MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins (1-5) are in a bad place. The Cleveland Browns (1-5) can relate.
Two of the NFL’s worst teams meet Sunday in Cleveland in what both teams could consider a “get-right” game.
A lot is at stake for the Dolphins. This is what many consider the easy part of the schedule. The Browns are one of five of the Dolphins’ remaining opponents that have a losing record along with Baltimore (1-5), New Orleans (1-5), the New York Jets (0-6) and Cincinnati (2-4).
Here are five things to watch for in Sunday’s game:
Tua
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (11 touchdowns, seven interceptions, 92.1 passer rating) is having a nightmarish start to the season. He’s thrown late-game interceptions against New England and Buffalo, and his fourth-quarter comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday was overshadowed by poor special teams and defensive plays. Oh, and sticking his foot in his mouth.
Tagovailoa could use a strong performance to change the narrative of the season, which, right now is that everyone — general manager Chris Grier, coach Mike McDaniel and Tagovailoa — could be gone after the season. Tagovailoa must outduel his fellow left-handed Hawaiian quarterback — Cleveland’s Dillon Gabriel — to get a victory this week.
Coaching
McDaniel (29-28 in regular season, 29-30 including playoffs) could use a victory. For that matter, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman could also use good performances. Their units surrendered the 27-26 lead against the Chargers with 46 seconds left in what turned into a 29-27 loss.
Neither McDaniel, Weaver nor Aukerman is having a good start to the season. If they could get their guys to cut out the mistakes and penalties they’d give themselves a much better chance to win. But the Chargers game was a perfect example of how all three units must improve — there were three interceptions by the offense, a key late 40-yard kickoff return allowed by special teams, and a key missed tackle that led to a 42-yard Chargers catch-and-run by the defense which set up Los Angeles’ winning field goal.
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Run defense
It’s been the same story each week — the Dolphins, who are last in run defense at 168.5 yards allowed per game — surrender more than 100 yards rushing. This week they face Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins (383 yards rushing, 4.6 yards per carry, two touchdowns). The Dolphins allowed a league-worst nine rushes of 20 or more yards, allowed three runs of 40 or more yards, which is tied for second-most in the league, and their opponents’ 181 rushing attempts are tied for fourth-most. Expect Cleveland to run the ball. And if history is a predictor of the future in this regard, expect the Dolphins to struggle stopping the run.
A road victory
The Dolphins are 10-19 (.345) in regular-season road games under McDaniel. They’re on a four-game road losing streak and they’ve lost six of their past seven. The Dolphins are 0-3 on the road this season losing at Indianapolis (33-8) in a game in which they looked disorganized and outclassed, at Buffalo (31-21) in a game that saw Tagovailoa throw a crucial fourth-quarter interception, and at Carolina (27-24) in a game in which they blew a 17-0 lead. For the record, Cleveland is 1-2 at home this season, meaning the Browns’ only victory has come at home
Patrick Paul vs. Myles Garrett
Paul, the Dolphins’ second-year left tackle, is having a great season in his first year as a starter. Garrett is a future Hall of Famer who has 4.0 sacks, which is tied for 16th in the league. There’s a chance Garrett spends lots of time opposite right tackle Larry Borom. But as the Dolphins try to determine what they have in Paul, who has fallen to No. 19 in pass blocking among offensive tackles according to Pro Football Focus, his performance against Garrett is a big measuring stick. Paul, a competitor and a trash-talker, is usually up for these types of challenges.
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