The 3 players all Miami Dolphins fans need to watch closely against the Chargers as they will be critical to a win

Will the Miami Dolphins leave California with a victory or will they head back to south Florida wondering what they did wrong? That is a big question. This game will not predicate what happens the rest of the season, win or lose.

We know that Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, Xavien Howard, and Bradly Chubb need to have big games. We know that Tua Tagovailoa is the glue that will hold the offensive success together but there three players specifically that Miami fans need to keep an eye on. Why? Because if they fail, the Dolphins very well may as well.

Kendall Lamm is starting at left tackle for Terron Armstead and his first start of the year will come against Khalil Mack and that isn't an easy task.

Lamm doesn't have to be perfect but he needs to give Tua time, at least a couple of seconds. Tua can beat the rush with a quick release but Khalis has a big release off the line and that could be a problem if Lamm can't slow him down.

The Dolphins need Lamm to play bigger than he has and right now, he is the depth behind Armstead and with the start LTs injury history, Lamm could see quite a bit of starts this year. It has been said that he has looked better in camp this year, today we find out.

If Lamm is holding down the left side, the rest of the Miami Dolphins offensive eyes will fall on Austin Jackson on the right.

We have heard from many in the media and fans who attended open practices that the 4th year tackle has looked much better this year. He will need to show that he has.

Jackson will go up against one of the best. Khalil Mack is good, Joey Bosa is on another level entirely.

Bosa's quick fires off the line, anticipatory snap ability, and physical punch can make great tackles look average and this week, he face a tackle that at best for three years has looked average.

Last year, Jackson missed almost the entire season after suffering a week one injury. He needs to stay healthy, keep his feet moving, use his leverage and take Bosa out of the play by using Bosa's own momentum to steer him out of the pocket. In other words, if Bosa tries to go outside, Jackson needs to push him outside instead of trying to block him from doing so. Same with an inside move.

Jackson as we said earlier this week can not afford to play trying to predict what Bosa will do but instead react to what he does.

Defensively, the Miami Dolphins should be in a good position but there is one hole that could be a glaring problem against the Chargers.

Will Eli Apple get the start? Will Kader Kohou or Cam Smith? Until the Dolphins line up against the Chargers, we won't know 100% for certain who lines up across from Xavien Howard.

There has been speculation that Apple will get the not but some believe Kohou will see a lot of time potentially man-up on Keenan Allen.

Whoever ends up on the outside will be targeted quite a bit by Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense and could be a major deciding factor in the outcome of this game.