No rest in the playoff hunt
Dolphins quickly shift focus to Titans after key Monday night win over Saints
The Miami Dolphins handled the first leg of three steps they likely need to take care of to make the playoffs with Monday night’s 20-3 win at the New Orleans Saints.
But any celebration for the latest in a seven-game winning streak — after losing seven straight before it — was short-lived. Traveling back to Miami early Tuesday morning meant it was right back to work for the Dolphins (8-7) before an all-too-important AFC showdown in Nashville with the Tennessee Titans (10-5) on Sunday, especially after the Titans have had four more days of rest and preparation after playing last Thursday night.
“It’s a quick turnaround, so quick watch of the game [Monday] night,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said on Tuesday on a web conference call. “Hopefully, a lot of our guys have taken a look at Tennessee and gotten a head start. … A lot of work to do to get a game plan put together offensively, defensively and in the kicking game.”
Tennessee started the season 8-2 and was up to the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but elite power running back Derrick Henry went down after the team’s Oct. 31 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans slipped up for losses in three of four games — to the Houston Texans, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers — before winning at home last Thursday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Henry, who last year ran for 2,027 yards, his second consecutive season leading the NFL in rushing, was on a similar path through eight games. He had 937 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns before a foot injury sidelined him. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Dolphins with the possibility he could return for the regular-season finale ahead of the Titans’ postseason run.
Despite the bulldozing back’s absence, the Dolphins still approach the Titans with respect for their physicality offensively and ability to run the football. With an attack that has utilized running backs D’Onta Foreman, Dontrell Hilliard and Jeremy McNichols, Tennessee has had two separate 200-yard rushing outputs, including 270 against the Patriots on Nov. 28
“They’re a tough, physical team,” Miami defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said. “Derrick Henry’s a good back. There’s no question about it, but I think their philosophy, what they try to do [doesn’t change]. They have capable backs. They have a very good scheme, and they have a very good offensive line. They’re going to be physical in all facets of the game.”
Of course, it’s also the reunion of longtime Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill facing Miami as a member of the Titans. Flores didn’t want to answer questions on Tuesday about the brief month-plus he crossed paths with Tannehill in 2019 before the Dolphins traded him to Tennessee that March. He did speak highly of what Tannehill has become with the Titans.
“He’s a very good player,” Flores said. “Good arm, mobile, good command of the offense, makes checks at the line of scrimmage.”
Added Boyer: “You start with the intangibles. He’s definitely a tough-minded quarterback. He has the arm to make all the throws and does make all the throws. He can beat you with his feet, whether it’s a designed or whether he
makes a play extend with his legs in the pass game.”
In the seven games since Henry went down, Tannehill is completing 68 percent of passes for 1,325 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s been sacked 21 times in that span as he prepares to face a Dolphins defense that leads the NFL in sacks during its seven-game winning streak.
His top target, the 6-foot1, 226-pound third-year wide receiver A.J. Brown, will have to be a focal point defensively. Brown, after a Pro Bowl 2020 season, has 57 receptions for 760 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games this season.
Miami often allows its cornerbacks, Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, to handle opposing receivers in single coverage, but Brown may be worth rotating more coverage and attention to after he stood out for a season-high 11 receptions for 145 yards plus the winning touchdown in Thursday’s win.
“He’s one of the top receivers in the league,” Flores said. “I think Tannehill is doing a great job of getting him the football. They’re scheming things up to get it to him, as they should given his talent level. He’s someone we got to pay attention to, but they’ve got other receivers, backs, tight ends.
A win Sunday at the Titans keeps the Dolphins in their win-and-they’re-in scenario in the regular-season finale against the Patriots (9-6). If Miami loses, a number of other results would have to go the Dolphins’ way between Week 17 and 18. There is even a scenario that only involves one betting-line upset (Steelers beating the Browns on Monday Night Football) that would eliminate the Dolphins at the end of this week’s slate of games if Miami loses to Tennessee.