Las Vegas Raiders will take on new-look Miami Dolphins in Week 16
Las Vegas Raiders will take on new-look Miami Dolphins in Week 16
How can the Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins?
The Dolphins are in year two of their rebuild, and though they have a good young coach, this is a team that the Raiders will have to beat if they are to be taken seriously as a playoff team. They have added talent through free agency and the draft but the Raiders have the talent edge and should have the coaching edge as well due to Jon Gruden’s experience.
The Dolphins may not rush Tua to start in Week 1 due to his injury and this bizarre offseason, but by Week 16 he should be starting if he is as good as many believe he is. No matter how good Tua is, rookie quarterbacks will always be more prone to mistakes as they adjust to the speed of the pro game.
Even if Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter for whatever reason, he is just as prone to turnovers and mistakes as a rookie and that will be the key to winning this game.
Even with a rebuilt offensive line, they will likely be starting 2-3 rookies, and the Raiders will have to take advantage of that with their improved pass rush to disrupt the Dolphins’ quarterbacks. Their most notable offensive weapon is DeVante Parker, but no other pass catcher should be a problem for the Raiders defensive backs or linebackers, especially with the upgrades in those departments for the Silver and Black like Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski.
The Dolphins’ defense should be better after the amount of draft and salary capital they poured in to it, but it is a unit with plenty of new starters and new faces who will take time to gel. The Raiders have similar problems on defense but they have more familiarity with the current scheme deployed by defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
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Simply put, the Raiders are a better team on paper than the Miami Dolphins, and as mentioned, they will need to win this game to be taken seriously as a playoff contender in 2020. The Raiders and Dolphins have one of the longest running rivalries in the league, stretching all the way back to the AFL days of the 1960s, and the 2020 edition will be the latest chapter that the Raiders will need to win.