5 reasons Oakland Raiders will beat Miami Dolphins
By John Buhler
![SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 18: Bruce Irvin No. 51 of the Oakland Raiders reacts to sacking Quarterback Philip Rivers No. 17 of the San Diego Chargers late in the fourth quarter en route to the Raiders 19-16 win over Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on December 18, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 18: Bruce Irvin No. 51 of the Oakland Raiders reacts to sacking Quarterback Philip Rivers No. 17 of the San Diego Chargers late in the fourth quarter en route to the Raiders 19-16 win over Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on December 18, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fjustblogbaby-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F08-2F630221960-oakland-raiders-v-san-diego-chargers-jpg-850x560-4032332fdc94f2d5348424f4ded9880e513a9c5eb8f84c97848bf237c4b78aed.jpg)
Miami is in complete disarray
While the Oakland locker room might have lost its mojo, how do we classify what has been going on in Miami? This is a team that went 10-6 a season ago to earn the other AFC wild card spot along with the Raiders. Though 4-3, this team feels like it has already quit on the season.
Head coach Adam Gase, an offensive guru, is struggling to get much of anything out of his offense. Quarterback play has been largely horrendous with Cutler or Matt Moore under center. The ground game has waned and Jay Ajayi is no longer with the team.
Defensively, losing former coordinator Vance Joseph to the Denver Broncos head coaching job wasn’t great. Though it is the same scheme from last year, it has been mostly an uphill battle for new defensive coordinator Matt Burke with the Dolphins. At least he has a defensive line that can do work for him.
That 40-0 beatdown by the Ravens definitely helped shape the negative perception of the Dolphins heading into this game. Oakland isn’t playing well either, but the Raiders are actually laying points in this game on the road in a primetime game. What does that say about the state of the 2017 Dolphins at the halfway point?