After coming off their first win of the season, the Miami Dolphins will host the undefeated Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s week four inside Hard Rock Stadium with a tough task on their hands as they try and contain the NFL’s touchdown-leading quarterback, Russell Wilson.
Through three games Wilson has nearly 1,000 yards and has already tallied 14 passing TDs. He has two 300-yard games and has tossed no less than 288 yards in any game this season, giving Seattle (3-0) one of the best offenses in the NFL. Wilson is also the first QB in NFL history to throw for 14 TDs in the first three games.
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Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf: Red Hot, Byron Jones: Ice Cold
This comes at the hands of the likes of wide receiver help from Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. The two wideouts have combined for 556 yards and seven TDs through three weeks. They could be on showcase again this week in a Miami defense who is missing starting corner back Byron Jones (knee) for the second straight week.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Byron’s situation. We’ll just stick with the game plan and we’ll be good from there,” opposite side starting CB Xavien Howard said. “I feel great. The next game is the most important game. I’m just focused on what we’ve got to do to stop everything and we’ll be good.”
Miami Has Struggled With Good Teams So Far
The Dolphins on the other hand have started the season 1-2 under quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Despite a not so hot, 0-2 start to the season, Miami has in fact gone out and shown that it can play football and are much farther along than it was just one year ago at this time.
After a rocky start to the season in Foxborough against one of the best coaches in history and the New England Patriots, the defense had another tough showing in its failing to contain Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. The duo of Stefon Diggs and John Brown flourished in that game with TDs and each had high yards per catch, the same that may be true for Lockett and Metcalf once the game goes final.
But then, the team went to Jacksonville. After shutting down QB Gardner Minshew for no total TDs, the Dolphins earned their first win and showed it could contain wideouts.
Miami Averaging More Points Than Opponents
Miami is currently averaging a higher score than their opponents through these three games, and their one win came on the road which is never an easy thing to do. They’ve also scored at least four touchdowns in their last four outings and when Fitzpatrick doesn’t turn the ball over in a game the team is averaging 29.5 points per game.
“I think you always want to call the game aggressively, whether it’s offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. I guess that’s how we want to be by nature,” Miami head coach Brian Flores said. “We want our players to play physical and aggressively. I don’t think we want to – we want to be smart, also. Every situation is different. Every game is different. The timing of making a more aggressive call versus a different type of call, every one is a little bit different.”
Statistically, no one on the Dolphins’ roster has stood out so far, but that just shows that they have been playing some good, balanced team-ball.
Myles Gaskin Will Be the Lead Back
Running back Myles Gaskin has surprisingly emerged as the lead back for the Dolphins and currently has 185 yards through three games. However, it was only last game that he was solely the lead back and really only got carries taken away at the goal line and not even the red zone where he had a handful of touches. Gaskin also garnered 22 carries last game, a career-high, and will be the lead back again Sunday.
“I need to get a lot better, just for my personal – I think that’s the way of being a Dolphin is I’m never satisfied, just always striving for more,” Gaskin said. “I really don’t think I’ve made a splash or anything like that. I appreciate all of the compliments and stuff like that, but I need to do better.”
Seahawks RB Dinged Up, Questionable
Also on the Seahawks’ road to 3-0, Seattle has rushed for 355 yards as a team. Generally this wouldn’t be good news for Miami, as it has averaged 134 rushing yards per game as a team, but RB Chris Carson (knee) is severely questionable. Backup Carlos Hyde (shoulder) is also in danger of missing the game, possibly leaving it up to third-string Travis Homer to take the reigns – something that will definitely change the outcome of the way the Seahawks have been rushing.
Seattle’s Defense: Merely Mediocre
Some more good news for Miami is the lackluster play of Seattle’s defense. It hasn’t been anything more than mediocre on the season and has already given up more than 500 yards per game so far. What used to be the legion of boom is now a defense allowing over 500 yards with more than 430 of those coming through the air. Ding ding ding, can I get some fitzmagic?
Kayla Morton contributed to this article.
– Christian Chappell is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @cmoneypc Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.
