PRECARIOUS

The Miami Dolphins are still in with a very slim chance of making the play-offs thanks to the Bengals OT win over the Broncos. It isn’t the only thing that needs to happen for them to make a third consecutive play-off appearance, first off, they need to win tonight and next week, but the Broncos have to lose to the Chiefs next week and somehow the Colts need to either go down to the Giants or Jaguars. All those scenarios are unlikely, especially the Colts losing, but stranger things have happened. If you were a cynical person you would wonder why on earth the Giants or Jags would want to win as it would drop down them down draft order.

As for the Browns, they have been eliminated and have nothing to play for, although they will probably want to finish their last home game of the year with a win and send their fans home with a smile on their faces. Looking at injuries, they are going to have to do it without TE David Njoku and WR Cedric Tillman, that is pretty much it. Myles Garrett’s back up is out and Jameis Winston is questionable, but they seemed to have passed the reins over to Dorian Thompson-Robinson any way.

As for Miami, things aren’t looking great as Tua is looking doubtful, of all the games to potentially miss, it had be this one. He was listed as questionable all the way up to Friday, but then Saturday he was downgraded. Apparently he wants to play and is still trying to, but the hip injury is bad enough that it could impact his mobility and strength. Tyler Huntley would start if he can’t make it and to further protect them Skylar Thompson was elevated from the practice squad.

It doesn’t stop there as the team elevated Nik Needham for the game because Kendall Fuller has been placed on IR, they weren’t done though as Erik Ezukanma was also signed to the active roster because Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Dee Eskridge are all down as questionable, so they may need somebody else to catch a ball or two. Finally, Anthony Walker Jr. is out and Jordan Poyer is also questionable, not a great way to go into a game that they have to win, even if it is the Browns.

 All the pundits have Miami down as winners, but was that before Tua’s availability was changed, clearly without him in the line up the chance of a win is reduced. The Browns though have lost four in a row and are now in play for the number one pick in the 2025 draft, will that be enough for Kevin Stefanski to have some spurious plays called. They are in desperate need of a starting calibre QB and the 2025 draft class is fairly thin in comparison too years past. It is always a gamble but if you don’t roll the dice it will never happen. The Browns more than anyone have been burnt by QB draft picks, but their luck must change sometime… doesn’t it?

Last week the concern was how the offensive line would hold up against Nick Bosa a company, surprisingly they fared pretty well and kept Tua upright. This week they face another tough challenge as Myles Garrett will be looking to wreak havoc. He is still playing at a high level and has twelve sacks and eighteen tackles for loss, tied second and first respectively. If Huntley is out there, he may well add to his total because Tyler takes longer to get the ball out.

If the offensive line can find a way to slow the Browns pass rush then they may have some success through the air as Joe Burrow had a good game against them last week, he posted a QB rate of 134.3 and finished with three TD’s, but then it was Joe Burrow not Tyler Huntley, that and the fact Miami may have to rely on Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane to make the passing game effective if the starting trio of receivers can’t make it.

All may not be lost though, especially if the ground game turns up like last week. They had one of their best performances of the year and there is a chance they could repeat today as the Browns struggled to stop Chase Brown last week. He finished with ninety-one yards at an average of 5.1 YPC which is encouraging and gives the team hope.

As for the Cleveland offense, they don’t pose much of a threat on paper, back-to-back games under eight points isn’t going to scare anybody any time soon. Although the Miami secondary gave up a lot of yards against Brock Purdy they shouldn’t have as much trouble this week, even with Kendall Fuller out. DTR had a miserable day against one of the worst defense’s in the league putting up 157 yards, 2 INT’s and no touchdowns. The only real threat in their passing game will come from Jerry Jeudy, but Jalen Ramsey should be able to keep him relatively quiet.

If they manage to make any noise it will be from their run game even with Nick Chubb out. Jerome Ford had a good day against the Bengals, but it was kind of skewed as he had a sixty-seven-yard sprint out of the gun, he went on to finish with ninety-two yards on eleven carries. The Dolphins can’t let him take control as it may end up being a low scoring affair, especially if Huntley is out there under center, not long to wait.