KEYS TO THE GAME

Get after Houston’s quarterback: Tyrod Taylor is practicing for the second straight week after being sidelined for the past six games because of a Grade II hamstring strain. But it’s unclear if he’ll be healthy enough to start Sunday’s game against Miami, an opponent whom he owns a 112.1 passer rating and has thrown 10 touchdowns with zero interceptions against. He’s completed 72.8 percent of his passes against Miami, a team he owns a 4-2 record against as a starter. Rookie quarterback Davis Mills, who’s 0-6 as the starter since being drafted in the third round this year out of Stanford, has struggled as Taylor’s replacement. He’s been sacked 20 times.

Protect Tua Tagovailoa better: While the sacks have been drastically reduced (just three in the past three games) in Tagovailoa’s return from his broken ribs, plenty of that success can be credited to Tagovailoa’s pocket presence and tendency to get the ball out quickly. But wouldn’t it be beneficial for the offensive line to give Tagovailoa an extra second or two to scan the field and find open receivers downfield? If Tagovailoa faced less pressure maybe his 6.6 yards per pass attempt average would increase. Both of Miami’s tackles — Liam Eichenberg and Jesse Davis — struggled last Sunday against the Bills and need to rebound against the Texans, who average 1.9 sacks per game (ranked 25th in the NFL).

Don’t let Houston’s tailbacks beat you: On paper, David Johnson and Patrick Lindsay would make a dynamic duo in the NFL, but neither of them is averaging more than 3.7 yards per carry. Plenty of that has to do with Houston’s offensive line, which has been playing without an injured Laremy Tunsil. But you never know when one of those proven tailbacks will have a breakout game. The Dolphins have gotten better at containing the run since Raekwon

Davis’ return four games ago, limiting opponents to 94.7 rushing yards per game. The Texans average 76.1 rushing yards per game.

Rush for more than 100 yards: Too often this season Miami has had the run game going in the first half of games and abandoned it in the second. As a result, Miami has the most unbalanced offense in the NFL.