Capital Visit

By Mike Rifkin

The 8-3 Dolphins visit the Commanders on Sunday. The Dolphins are coming off a 34-13 victory over the Jets on Black Friday. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 243 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Raheem Mostert had 94 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill had over 100 yards receiving, but the biggest play of the game came right at the end of the first half after Tua threw his second interception. The Jets tried a Hail Mary that was intercepted by Jevon Holland and returned for a touchdown. The Dolphins suffered a significant loss in the win, with EDGE rusher Jaelan Phillips tearing his Achilles, so they’ll need more from Emmanuel Ogbah.

The Commanders are coming off a 45-10 whooping at the hands of the Cowboys. Sam Howell had 300 yards passing with a rushing touchdown and an interception. The Commander’s defense gave up 431 yards of total offense and has played so poorly that Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio was fired on Friday. You can say many things about the Commanders, but I believe they found their franchise QB in Howell. Howell leads the NFL in Passing Yards and has 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, but has also been sacked 55 times this season. 

Keys to the Game

1. Win the Trenches – Like I just said, Sam Howell has been sacked 55 times this season; Bradley Chubb and company can have a good day. On the flip side, the Commanders have an excellent defensive line, especially on the interior, so the interior of the Dolphin’s offensive line has to be good.
2. Running Game: The Dolphins average 145 yards on the ground per game, and Washington gives up 113.1 yards per game, so the Dolphins should be able to have an effective run game.
3. Win the turnover battle – The Dolphins have turned the ball over multiple times over the past few weeks, and it has hurt the defense at times. Nobody has a worse turnover differential than the Commanders. That’d be huge if the Dolphins could play clean and force a few turnovers.