Setting the Stage for the Dolphins-Raiders Week 3 Matchup
The Miami Dolphins will look to rebound from their loss in their home opener when they face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 3 Dolphins-Raiders matchup:
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 26
TIME: 4:05 p.m. ET
SITE: Allegiant Stadium; Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: CBS
STREAMING: fuboTV
TV distribution: The game will be shown in South Florida and other parts of the state, Arizona, most of Nevada, parts of California, and different areas in the North.
Announcers: Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Charles Davis (color analyst), Evan Washburn (sideline)
SI Sportsbook betting line: Raiders by 3.5 (over/under 44)
Dolphins — QB Tua Tagovailoa (ribs) is out.
Raiders — G Richie Incognito (calf), S Dallin Leavitt (concussion) and S Roderic Teamer (ankle) are out; RB Josh Jacobs (ankle) is doubtful.
Regular season series history: The Dolphins lead 18-17-1
Last five meetings:
Dec. 26, 2020 at Las Vegas; Dolphins 26, Raiders 25
Sept. 23, 2018 at Miami; Dolphins 28, Raiders 20
Nov. 5, 2017 at Miami; Raiders 27, Dolphins 24
Sept. 28, 2014 at London, England; Dolphins 38, Raiders 14
Sept. 16, 2012 at Miami; Dolphins 35, Raiders 13
Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 24 (2014 at London, England; Dolphins 38, Raiders 14)
Raiders' largest margin of victory: 26 (1968 at Miami; (Raiders 47, Dolphins 21)
Highest-scoring matchup: 79 points (1984 at Miami; Raiders 45, Dolphins 34)
Lowest-scoring matchup: 16 points (1979 at Oakland; Raiders 13, Dolphins 3)
Series highlights: The Dolphins' 28-20 victory in 2018 featured the famous high-five between Jakeem Grant and Albert Wilson as Wilson was approaching the Raiders goal line on a long touchdown. ... The Dolphins scored two defensive touchdowns (1-yard interception return by Zach Thomas and 14-yard INT return by Robert Jones) in their 27-17 victory at Oakland in 1998. ... The Dolphins' first road game against the Raiders in Los Angeles was the 1983 Monday night game that featured the NFL debut of Dan Marino.
Former Raiders players with the Dolphins:
None
Former Raiders coaches with the Dolphins:
Assistant offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre, QB coach Charlie Frye
Former Dolphins players with the Raiders:
G Richie Incognito, RB Kenyan Drake, OL Jermaine Eluemunor
Former Dolphins coaches with the Raiders:
None
Other connections
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Raiders QB Marcus Mariota both attended Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii ... Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins played at Clemson with Raiders DE Clelin Ferrell, CB Trayvon Mullen Jr., WR Hunter Renfrow and C John Simpson ... Dolphins senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie was general manager of the Raiders from 2012-18.
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RELATED: THE FIVE BIGGEST STORYLINES FOR THE DOLPHINS-RAIDERS MATCHUP
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RAIDERS SCOUTING REPORT
The Raiders are in the fourth year of Jon Gruden's second stint as head coach and it looks early on as though they've finally turned the corner after three playoff-less seasons. The Raiders not only are 2-0 but their victories have come against two 2020 playoff teams — Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The offense has led the way, with Derek Carr passing for 435 and 382 yards in those two games. The long-suffering defense made significant additions at all three levels — defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, linebacker K.J. Wright, cornerback Casey Hayward — and defensive end Maxx Crosby has generated a lot of pressure on the quarterback so far, with two sacks and 10 QB hits in the first two games.
THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN ...
Stop us if you've heard this one before, but it's takeaways that appear to be the Dolphins' best route to victory in this game. Las Vegas leads the NFL in total offense, while the Dolphins are next-to-last, so there's no reason to think Miami will be able to win an offensive battle. The Dolphins defense did not have a takeaway against the Raiders last December, the only turnover coming on special teams, so this will be no easy task. But then again, so is containing Derek Carr as hot as he's been so far this year.
THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE ...
There seem to be a whole lot more reasons here, starting with the aforementioned hot start by Carr, not to mention tight end Darren Waller, who had 112 receiving yards against the Dolphins in the game last year. On the other side of the ball, we're looking at a bad matchup on paper given the pass protection issues the Dolphins encountered last week and how impressive the Raiders pass rush was the first two weeks of the season. That matchup is why it's really difficult to see the Dolphins winning unless they get a lot of help from their defense.
FINAL DOLPHINS-RAIDERS PREDICTION
Let's start by saying that everything we've seen from the Dolphins over the past two seasons suggests the team will bounce back and at the very least put forth a competitive effort. Maybe that's why the betting line is relatively small considering what each team showed last week because based on Week 2 the Raiders should be overwhelming favorites in this game. But we certainly could see a scenario where the Dolphins come up with a defensive scheme that messes with the Raiders' mojo on offense, leads to some turnovers and produces the kind of win like the Dolphins had against the L.A. Rams in 2020. But a lot of things would have to go right for that scenario to unfold and it maybe just as likely that the Raiders offense continues its hot start and its defense overwhelms the Dolphins with its pass rush. From this end, we do expect the Dolphins to be much better than they were last year, but we're also buying the Raiders as legit contenders. It adds up to a disappointing day in the desert. Raiders 24, Dolphins 13.
