The Five Biggest Storylines for Dolphins-Broncos
The Miami Dolphins will look to continue their remarkable run when they face the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday.
The Dolphins are 6-3 and on a five-game winning streak following their 29-21 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10; the Broncos have a 3-6 record and are coming off a 37-12 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Here are the five biggest storylines for the game:
1. Tua Goes for Four
Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa will look to join Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers as the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era to win their first four starts. The question is whether Tua will be asked to air it out the way he did against Arizona two Sundays ago or simply avoid mistakes the way it happened against the Chargers.
2. With a Little Lock
It turns out the Broncos will have second-year quarterback Drew Lock available for the game after he was a question mark all week because of a rib injury he sustained last week against the Raiders. Whether that makes a difference will depend on which Lock shows up, the one who rallied Denver to a last-second victory against the Chargers three Sundays ago or the one who threw four picks last week.
Rookie free agent Salvon Ahmed likely will get his second consecutive start at running back and will be looking to build on the impressive performance he put together against the Chargers. It would not only help the Dolphins against the Broncos but also solidify Ahmed's standing in the offense with Myles Gaskin eligible to return off injured reserve next week.
The game will mark a college reunion for Tua Tagovailoa with one of his star receivers from the University of Alabama, Jerry Jeudy. Selected 10 slots after the Dolphins took Tagovailoa, Jeudy is the most dangerous receiver on the Broncos roster. He leads the team in receiving yards and is second in receptions with 34. He's somebody the Dolphins secondary has to watch, but that secondary is coming off a tremendous performance against the Chargers.
5. Can the defense/special teams do it again?
There's little question the defense has spearheaded the Dolphins' five-game winning streak and the special teams have chipped in as well since Tua took over as the starting quarterback. Over the past five games, the defense and special teams have been responsible for a whopping five touchdowns (three returns for touchdowns, a fumble return to the 1-yard line, a punt block recovered at the 1-yard line). If the Dolphins get one of those plays again at Denver, it's highly likely the winning streak goes to six games.
