3 toughest quarterbacks Miami will face in 2016
By Tyler Olson
The other day I reviewed the three toughest wide receiver corps Miami will face in 2016. How about the quarterbacks throwing them the ball?
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There are plenty of signal callers to choose from but three that stand out as the best-of-the-best.
3. Philip Rivers
The Dolphins and San Diego Chargers seem to be on a trend lately of beating each other up. Last year it was Philip Rivers and the Chargers, behind the energy of the home crowd in what everyone thought would be the last one in Qualcomm Stadium, dominating the Dolphins 30-14. The year before that was a different story, however, with Miami picking Rivers off three times in a 37-0 route.
Rivers is hardly ever the problem, though. Much like the Dolphins staff the Chargers have struggled putting an offensive line together, putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback position to make plays. Rivers has been the one consistent in sunny San Diego for years and continues to be their rock in an organization that can’t quite figure out the Super Bowl formula.
Rivers gets Miami in a week 13 matchup in his own backyard. In what may be a battle between two teams fighting for a wild card spot down the stretch, quarterback Ryan Tannehill will have to out-duel Rivers like he did back in 2014.
2. Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger is 4-1 against the Dolphins throughout his 11 year career. His only loss against Miami came in the crazy snow game back in 2013 and the only reason why the Pittsburgh Stellers lost that game is because Antonio Brown stepped out of bounds on what would’ve been a winning touchdown.
Always a consistent leader on the field, Roethlisberger struggled last season with injuries missing the most games in a year since the 2010 season. Is age catching up to him? It might be. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s got one of the best passing attacks in the NFL.
Miami plays Pittsburgh at home week six. Will it be enough time for new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to rally his troops in the new defense?
1. Tom Brady
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This is pretty obvious. Except the one great thing about Miami facing the New England Patriots this season is they’ll only face Tom Brady once opposed to twice due to his four-game suspension to start the season.
The only time the Dolphins defense will face Brady in 2016 – at least in the regular season – is in week 17. That game will take place January 1st in Miami in a game we all hope will have playoff implications on the line.
Even better news for Miami? Brady struggles in South Florida in the last month of football. He’s only one once – I repeat myself – once in Miami after the 1st of December. That only win came back in 2012 in what was a close 16-23 loss for the Dolphins.
Wild Card
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson is a winner. He’s not always going to light up the box score but he’s going to manage the game to put his team in a position to win every week.
It’s a tough task for Miami as they travel to take on Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in week one. Wilson rarely loses at home but Miami holds one advantage against the Super Bowl winning quarterback: they’ve never lost to him.
Granted, Wilson has only played Miami once in his career and it was in South Florida his rookie season and he played much better than his fellow class of 2012 counterpart. Tannehill managed the 4th quarter well in that late-November matchup, leading two separate touchdown drives in the final quarter along with a game-winning field goal drive to put the Dolphins on top 24-21.