Miami Dolphins vs San Francisco 49ers is the Game of the Week

Two teams near the top of their respective conferences will meet Sunday, as the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers will be the Game of the Week.

It isn’t often that a Miami Dolphins game in December can be considered to be the game of the week, but we also haven’t seen a Dolphins team like this in generations.

For the first time since 2001, Miami has an 8-3 record, and they are currently in first place in one of the toughest divisions in football. They have a high-powered offense led by an MVP-candidate quarterback and a pair of wide receivers that are indisputably the best duo in the game. They’re one of the most exciting teams in the league, with commentators mentioning how much of a joy Tua Tagovailoa is to watch on tape.

Given the quality of their opponents over the last month and a half, there haven’t been many marquee games for the Dolphins lately, but that is about to change. Their next three games are against formidable opponents, which will all be games played on the road. We’ll learn a lot more about what Miami is made of after the current stretch, and it will start with a contest that will be the game of the week for Week 13.

The San Francisco 49ers enter the game with the league’s best defense, topping most of the important statistical categories and having allowed zero points over the last six quarters. The unit led by coordinator DeMeco Ryans has All-Pro talent at every level, including the likes of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, and the Dolphins’ offensive line will certainly have its hands full.

But this isn’t your average offense. The last two teams that the 49ers played against were the Cardinals and Saints, who aren’t exactly offensive juggernauts, and they’ll have to be on top of their game against Tua Tagovailoa and company. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? We’re going to find out on Sunday afternoon.

It isn’t just the quality of the teams on the field, though. The game has even more intrigue because of the connections between the two franchises. The Dolphins have been referred to as the “South Beach 49ers”, and for good reason. Their head coach Mike McDaniel comes directly from San Francisco and the Shanahan coaching lineage, and he has brought many of the similar schemes along with him.

He brought more than that, though. Many of the contributors to Miami’s offense played for San Francisco just last season, and one was even playing for San Francisco a few weeks ago. Raheem Mostert and Trent Sherfield have been coming on as guys getting good numbers in a high-flying offense, and Jeff Wilson Jr. has been an instant sensation for the Dolphins’ backfield. And even though he has downplayed it, there seemed to have been some shade thrown by Mostert in the direction of his former quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

So not only will it be the game of the week, but it could be a dark horse candidate for game of the year. That makes it all the more asinine that the contest between the Dolphins and 49ers was not flexed in to prime time in the Sunday Night Football slot. There are stipulations between the broadcasting companies that made it so that FOX was able to keep the rights to show the game, but it will feel lackluster to watch the Colts and the Cowboys on NBC after the bloodbath that the game in San Francisco promises to be.