Top Dolphins Questions Heading Into Week 14 Against The Giants
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The NFL will be totally focused on South Florida for one night as the Miami Dolphins are set to host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Dolphins (5-7) are clinging to their slim playoff hopes with four games remaining on the schedule while the Giants (5-7) are in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East.
New York's path to the playoffs seems much less complicated than the Fins.
Miami currently sits in 11th place in the AFC playoff standings and would need to climb over five teams to get into the top six.
That will be a tall order for the Dolphins considering their awful tiebreak situation. Of the five teams in front of them, Miami has only beaten one of them (Houston) and additionally they have a poor conference record (3-6).
The Dolphins likely know that they will have to win all four of their remaining games to have a reasonable chance of squeaking into the playoffs.
Here are the top questions heading into Miami's Monday night battle with the Giants.
How Will The Dolphins Secondary Handle The Giants Potent Passing Game?
Miami's banged up defensive backfield will have to find a way to deal with Giants quarterback Eli Manning and his bevy of talented receivers. Everybody knows how good Odell Beckham Jr. is, but complimenting him are Rueben Randle and the ascending David Harris, who is also dangerous as a return man.
Can Miami Have A More Balanced Offense This Week?
Last Sunday against Baltimore the Dolphins ran the ball quite well but the passing game was almost non-existent. Ryan Tannehill threw for just 86 yards on 19 attempts, with 38 of those yards coming on a long touchdown pass to rookie DeVante Parker. This week Miami will need to better utilize Tannehill and his receivers while still maintaining a strong rushing attack.
Will Jarvis Landry And Odell Beckham Jr. Put On A Show For Us?
Once college teammates at LSU, Landry and Beckham have been turning heads during their two seasons in the NFL. The two have remained close friends and will likely have some fun on Monday trying to one-up each other. The end result could be very entertaining for fans watching the game.
What Can We Expect From Rookie DeVante Parker?
It's looking more and more like Dolphins wideout Rishard Matthews will miss one more week due to his cracked ribs which means that first round pick DeVante Parker will get another opportunity to show what he can do for a full game. He made an amazing catch on a 38-yard touchdown last week against Baltimore and has accumulated seven catches for 143 yards, an average of 20.4 yards per reception, and two touchdowns in Miami's last two games.
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Watch Miami take on the New York Giants this Monday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS4, your official Dolphins station!
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