Miami Dolphins set to take on the Vikings in pivotal game
By Sean Moon
The Minnesota Vikings are set to host a miracle Miami Dolphins team in a pivotal week 15 match up this Sunday December 16th at 1:00pm and it will definitely have playoff contention results.
Do you believe in Miracles, well after last Sunday at the Hard Rock Stadium I sure do. I bet all the money in the world you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face still after that game. But, like all good things, even miracles in Miami have to come to an end.
So, now the (7-6)Miami Dolphins are set to travel up north to the fridge cold to play indoors, thankfully, and meet the tail spinning, inconsistent (6-6-1)Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis Minnesota.
The Miami Dolphins have played the Minnesota Vikings 12 times winning 8 of those matchups and including 1 post season victory that just happened to be the Super Bowl back in the 1974 season.
The Miami Dolphins are coming in to town riding one on of the most craziest games in recent NFL history and probable putting together their best game as an offense this season. Ryan Tannehill was very sharp but did suffer a pretty severe ankle injury late in the first half, but it is not expected to keep him off the field this Sunday. Ryan Tannehill got a rhythm together fast with wideout Kenny Stills, hitting Stills eight times for 135 yards with one touchdown. The Miami Dolphins running game was very productive with new comer Brandon Bolden‘s two runs, one of which was for 60 yards and he made the most of those opportunities, by taking both carries to the house. But, the ageless one, Frank “the tank” Gore, continued to be the work horse for the team and added 92 yards on his twelve carries and consistently helped move the chains for the offense.
The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a lack luster performance against an average Seattle Seahawks team, which led to the firing of their offensive coordinator John Defilippo. The offensive line was not good and the Seattle Seahawks defense created havoc on the Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, making him hold the ball way to long and forcing him to make some bad decisions. Dalvin Cook the young talented running back of the Minnesota Vikings will look to be used a whole lot more, especially after recent comments from the Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer were aimed at his desire to run the ball more. The Vikings have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and their defense likes to use blitz packages along with their very good defensive front. They have a solid defense that would love to stomp the playoff hopes right out off the south beach sand.
Ryan Tannehill will need to start fast and continue to score on the teams first possession, which used to be a team issue, but now seems like they have corrected that problem. The Dolphins quarterback will need to make fast decisions with the ball or the Vikings defensive line could deliver some pain and create some real problems for the Dolphins air attack. The deep ball looks to be an advantage for the Miami Dolphins, and if the offensive line can play how they did last week they should be able to move the ball down the field. A nice mixture with the Dolphins running backs should keep the Vikings defense guessing as the Dolphins have a lot of options running the ball. Three different style running backs, along with a very athletic and mobile quarterback should really help the Dolphins chances to keep the chains moving.
The real challenge for the Miami Dolphins will come against the run. The Miami Dolphins did a great job stopping the patriots ground attack last weekend but Dalvin Cook can hurt you if you fail to hold your gaps. He is elusive and fast, he has vision and can cut back very quickly and will look to make you pay. The Dolphins defensive front must contain, while the Dolphins linebackers must stay engaged and fill their gap assignments. Minnesota Viking quarterback Kirk Cousins has come under some scrutiny as of late, but don’t think you can go to sleep on him. The Minnesota Vikings have a very, very talented receiving corp and Kirk Cousins has a strong-arm to get it down field. If you allow the play action to start working, you could be in for a long afternoon. This guy does however get flustered in the pocket with pressure in his face, so Miami will need to bring the complex blitz packages and try to confuse Kirk Cousins into poor decisions and that will lead to turnovers.
The Miami Dolphins come in to this game as the underdog again and that is a good thing. This team seems to play a whole lot better when in that situation for whatever reason. Unfortunately for the Miami Dolphins, their road record is 1-5 and that has become a real issue for this team. With two of their remaining three games on the road and now all three are a must win, things are really getting interesting for this crazy 2018 football season in south Florida.