Miami Dolphins need a big lead early to give Armstead time off

The Miami Dolphins will have Terron Armstead on the field today but if they want to give him rest, get a big lead and sit him down.

Miami has to account for two very good edge rushers in Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. Having Armstead on the field will help but he needs to rest his calf and toe and while he is pushing through it, it could do more harm than good. This is, after all, a veteran lineman who hasn’t completed a full season and won’t again this year.

A big lead by the offense could help this situation. It wouldn’t be ideal to put Tua Tagovailoa behind a backup against these defenders but a big lead would also change the dynamic of how Mike McDaniel runs the offense and that would also help eliminate some of the pressure on Tua.

The good news for Miami is that they will enter their bye week and that should be a good two weeks for Armstead to get healthier ahead of the final weeks of football. The Dolphins are going to need their top offensive lineman down the stretch.

If Miami is going to rack up a lead early and maintain it, they will need their defense to be electric today. Taking away the Browns’ rushing attack and their top WRs, Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones will go a long way in giving the Dolphins’ offense a chance to put separation points on the scoreboard.

In the last two weeks, the Dolphins’ defense has put Miami’s offense in a position to play point for point and while the Dolphins have won those games, they have been far closer than they should have been.