Las Vegas Raiders: 3 keys to victory against Miami Dolphins

Las Vegas Raiders: 3 keys to victory against Miami Dolphins

Protect Derek Carr at all costs

Derek Carr has been playing at an MVP level through two weeks and is leading the NFL in passing by more than 100 yards. He’s doing so with a patchwork offensive line and will continue to do so in Week 3 against Miami. Starting guard Richie Incognito looks unlikely to play and Denzelle Good has already been lost for the season with an ACL injury.

Alex Leatherwood suffered a back injury against Pittsburgh but looks like he will play on Sunday after practicing for much of the week.

Miami does not have the same quality of pass rushers that Baltimore and Pittsburgh do, but they are a well-coached defense with plenty of talent at the back end. They have a player in Emmanuel Ogbah who had nine sacks last season and has already been a factor in the passing game.

The Miami defense as a whole has only two sacks through two games but they have racked up 17 QB hits and already have four forced fumbles so far.

While Pittsburgh and Baltimore’s defensive strength is their front seven, Miami’s is the defensive backfield that can force coverage sacks and turnovers. Their CB duo of Byron Jones and Xavien Howard may be the best in the NFL and they have other talented players like Eric Rowe and Jason McCourty back there as well.

The obvious key to victory is to keep Carr upright long enough to beat this talented group of DBs from Miami and prevent him from taking the type of hits he took against the Steelers. One way to do so is by focusing on the next key to victory.