Miami Dolphins must stop AJ Brown to beat the Tennessee Titans
By Pablo Rosero
As the Miami Dolphins attempt to extended their win streak they’ll need to keep Tennessee Titans wideout AJ Brown from having a big day.
The Dolphins have fallen back on their defense during they seven-game win streak, but now they’ll play their toughest challenge in the Tennessee Titans. Even without Derrick Henry or Julio Jones, the Titans do still feature an offense that has been able to move the football and put up points.
Last week the Titans got back a major piece with the return of third year wide receiver in AJ Brown. After missing three straight games with a calf injury, Brown returned against the San Francisco 49ers.
In that game he was clearly former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s favorite target. He came back to the tune of 11 receptions for 145 receiving yards and one touchdown off of 16 targets. If Miami hopes to beat the Titans, they cannot let Brown abuse their secondary.
Miami’s secondary features 2020 first team All-Pro Xavien Howard and Byron Jones. The defense also relies heavily on rookie safety Jevon Holland on the back end.
The front-seven should fair well against the Titans front and run game without Henry. Filling in for Henry has been D’Onta Foreman. Against the 49ers, Foreman was contained to only 9 carries for 17 yards and a touchdown.
The Dolphins have clearly struggled offensively this season, it was on full display against the COVID stricken New Orleans Saints. It is likely they’ll need to lean heavy on their defense once again, mainly making Tannehill uncomfortable, something they’ve been able to do during this win streak with 33 sacks.
Just as Tua Tagovailoa will likely rely heavily on rookie playmaker Jaylen Waddle, the same can be expected between Tannehill and Brown.
If Miami hopes to win this game and keep their playoff hopes alive, the game plan will need to start with containing or completely taking AJ Brown out of the game.