Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver We Miss Sunday Match Against Dallas…
Count me among the many, many Fins fans who were pleasantly delighted by the team’s triumph over the Jets last week. For those who missed it, I predicted a 20-17 loss in my Preview & Prediction post for that game. In my defense, a large portion of that was due to prior weather projections that predicted heavy rains at game time. The weather turned out to be perfect, though the Fins were missing a few more critical starters than I had anticipated. By kickoff, I had mentally prepared myself for a heartbreaking defeat. Instead, the Fins proved me (and a few others) wrong and rekindled some genuine hope in my tired soul.Despite missing top-level players on both sides of the ball, Miami put the screws to the Jets right from kickoff and never let up, coming away with the shutout win.
My (thankfully) failed prediction reduced me to 9-5 on the year in straight-up picks, and it was the second time I was wrong about a predicted loss, the other being the season opener against the Chargers:
And now we enter the real Thunderdome of the season – a three-week stretch against top-level teams. It all starts with the Fins hosting the 10-4 Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at Hard Rock. What kind of team are we facing in Jerry Jones’ favorite toy?
These are obviously stat rankings for two very good teams. Both rank in the top 5 in the NFL in several categories, and there are no obviously poor areas, aside from Dallas’ real issues with penalties. The Dolphins still boast the stronger offensive stats (as they do against every opponent), but the Cowboys are no slouch in this area.
Previous Two Games for Dallas
These two games were entertaining to watch. In under 120 minutes, they showcased nearly every key strength and flaw of the Cowboys.
Week 14 vs. Eagles: Dallas hosted their dreaded division opponents, the Philadelphia Eagles, two weeks ago. This game was billed as a true heavyweight clash between two evenly matched NFC East Division rivals. The Cowboys played fast and inspired, gaining a quick lead on the Eagles, 10-0 before the end of the first quarter. Philadelphia began making numerous penalties and unforced blunders (some of which were forced), and Jalen Hurts was as out of sync as I’d seen him in a couple of seasons.The Cowboys pressed the advantage by blitzing Hurts and using a sharp, balanced offensive attack to build the lead to 24-6 at the half. The Eagles did make it interesting for a few minutes after recovering a fumble by Prescott for a touchdown about five minutes into the 3rd quarter. Dallas responded by fighting through several of many penalties to keep tacking on field goals. The Eagles never found an answer to the persistent blitzing and tight man coverage by Dallas, and they were forced to watch the Cowboys steadily pull away on the leg of their outstanding placekicker, Brandon Aubrey. Dallas won a big one, 33-13 the victory moving them to 10-3 on the season.
Week 15: at Buffalo: In their followup to their seeming signature win against Philly, the Cowboys then went full Dr. Jekyl in Buffalo. The Bills’ defense harassed Dallas into ineffectiveness early, forcing their way through a somewhat injury-hobbled offensive line and rattling Dak Prescott into being less than his usual precise self. On the other side of the ball, the Bills eschewed their typical aerial attack and opted for a bullying running attack that put them up 7-0 by the end of the first, then 14-0 before Dallas finally got on the board with a field goal to put it at 14-3. Dallas continued to commit dumb penalties, the Bills continued to lean into an effective ground strategy, and the refs threw the Bills a couple of bones, the result being a 21-3 lead at halftime. In the second, the Bills defense continued to harass a Cowboys offense that had little idea of how to play from behind, while the Buffalo offense doubled down on the run game. The Bills tacked on another field goal in the third, and then another touchdown a few minutes in the 4th to go up 31-3. That was pretty much all she wrote, except for a weirdly slow, 15-play touchdown drive by Dallas which felt more like an early scrimmage for next week than an earnest attempt to pull off a miracle comeback. In the end, the Cowboys take a 31-10 loss and drop to 10-4.
What I learned about Dallas from watching these two games:
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