Five things to watch
MISSING THE MARK: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ worst season for completion percentage (60.7) was 2015, when receiver Jordy Nelson missed the entire year with a knee injury. Rodgers is hovering around that mark this season (60.6) and his inaccuracy was noticeable with some deep balls he missed against New England, which if completed might have changed the game. Rodgers said throwaways have been greater this year, which is why the percentage is down, but offensive passing game coordinator Jim Hostler said missing practice because of his knee injury has been a factor.Rodgers started practicing every day the week of the Patriots game and worked fully this week as well. TIGHT GRIP: Going into the New England game, running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams had 389 touches without a lost fumble, which is remarkable considering they were rookies last season. Their streak ended when Jones coughed up the ball against the Patriots in the fourth quarter, ending what looked like a promising drive. Sometimes one fumble can open the flood gates because future opponents will target a player who has fumbled. Running backs coach Ben Sirmans said Jones lost the ball on his way to the ground and wasn’t being careless.
FAST BREAK: If you’re the Dolphins and you’ve watched the Packers’ last two games, you’re probably going to run some no-huddle offense. The Los Angeles Rams quick-snapped the ball with some success two weeks ago and the Patriots had the defense scrambling when it came to the line quickly and tried to snap the ball before the Packers were set.
DELAY OF GAME: On the other side of the ball, the Packers are not snapping the ball fast enough. They are tied for the NFL lead in delayof-game penalties with five, according to NFLpenalties.com. Rodgers likes to run the play clock down as far as possible so he can make the defense reveal how it’s going to line up. However, teams have caught on and are waiting until the last second to move players around. YOUNG MAN’S GAME: Against the New York Jets last week, 35-year-old Dolphins running back Frank Gore carried 20 times and his young backup, Kenyan Drake, got just three. Drake is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and shouldn’t have been ignored as much as he was in the run game.