2020 Preview: Las Vegas Raiders vs. Miami Dolphins
While the 2020 football season is still months away, it’s never too early to start previewing the season. In this series, I’ll preview every game in the Raiders' regular-season and take a look into each opponent. In Week 16, the Raiders host their last game of the regular season against the Miami Dolphins.
Dolphins Revamp their Defense
The Miami Dolphins finished the 2019 season with a miserable 5-11 record and were dead last in the AFC East.
Fortunately for them, they had the most salary cap space of any team in the league.
Much of the open salary-cap space was filled up by two major free agency signings: cornerback Bryon Jones and linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Jones, the former Dallas Cowboy, signed a five-year, $82.5-million deal with the Dolphins. He led the league with 50 percent of targets thrown into tight windows. Jones will play opposite of cornerback Xavien Howard.
Van Noy, the former New England Patriot, signed a four-year, $51-million deal with the Dolphins. He had a career-high of 6.5 sacks last season. In comparison, the Dolphins had only 23 sacks last year, which ranked last in the NFL. Van Noy’s versatility on the field should help the Dolphins defense this season.
The Dolphins also drafted cornerback Noah Igbinoghene in the first round. The former wide receiver turned cornerback had 42 total tackles last year, including 28 solo tackles. Igbinoghene is a rookie who can learn from veteran Jones and Howard this season to become a factor in the Dolphins defense.
All-out Solid Outing for the Raiders
In Week 16, most teams know if they’re going to make the playoffs, are in the hunt for the Wild Card game, or about to call it a season with one more game to go.
The Raiders hope it’s the first option.
No matter the situation, this deep into the season, we’ll see if changes and additions to the Dolphins defense have worked successfully. If they have, quarterback Derek Carr will have to be on his A game to defeat the Dolphins.
The Raiders are an optimistic wide receiver and first-round pick Henry Ruggs III play as well as he’s hyped up to be. Hopefully, wide Receiver Tyrell Williams is averaging 15 yards or more per catch, making both sides of the field reliable options for Carr.
If running back Josh Jacobs is averaging above five yards per carry, that’s Carr’s second or third-down option.
For the defense, regardless whether it’s the first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa or Ryan Fitzpatrick as the Dolphins starting quarterback, the Raiders hope veteran safety Damarious Randall, combined with cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Trayvon Mullen, are tightening up space as much as possible in the secondary.
The hope is defensive end Maxx Crosby has more than 10 sacks on the season and five or more forced fumbles.
If all of the Raiders are playing as well as they should be, they should be closing out their last home game with a win.
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