Oakland Raiders: 5 matchups to watch vs. Miami Dolphins

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OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 08: Khalil Mack No. 52 of the Oakland Raiders rushes the quarterback during their NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Khalil Mack vs. Ja’Wuan James

Khalil Mack hasn’t come anywhere close to the 30 sacks he was shooting for at the start of this season. That being said, he has been the Raiders’ best player this season. Mack has found ways to be productive on most of his snaps for the Silver and Black. He has become one of the best run defenders out on the edge in year four in the league.

While Mack will be going up with the most consistently strong offensive lineman for the Dolphins this season in right tackle Ja’Wuan James, Sunday night could be the game where Mack ends up with three quarterback sacks.

James can’t do it alone, but the rest of the Dolphins’ front-five is all sorts of bad. Miami doesn’t have mobility at quarterback now that Ryan Tannehill is out for the season. Jay Cutler has a powerful right arm. Matt Moore knows the offense. However, neither will stay clean behind a constantly collapsing pocket due to the Raiders’ pass rush.

Add in that the Dolphins just traded running back Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles and Mack could be elite in run defense this week. Miami likes its new starting running back Kenyan Drake, but Mack should be licking his chops in this one.

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