There are six players the Miami Dolphins absolutely must contain if they are to beat the L.A. Chargers on Sunday
By Brian Miller
On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will kick off their 2023 season in a game that isn't of course a must win but could come into play 16 weeks from now should both teams be competing for a Wild Card spot.
It seems odd for two teams to face an early season challenge that could eventually come down to a simple head-to-head record for a final WC position but this weekends game has that kind of implication. Yes, there are so many things that have to happen in the next 17 weeks for us to worry about it but mark it down, would it not be such a Miami Dolphins thing for the first game of the year be the one that decides if the last is in fact, the last?
This weekend the Dolphins will have to contend with the big arm of Justin Herbert and to this day the connection between Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa will be connected at the hip given their draft positions. Regardless, in this game, Tua and Herbert are extremely important cogs in each teams offense but there are other players that for the Dolphins, need to be accounted for if they are going to win.
The number one player the Miami Dolphins have to account for is Joey Bosa.
Bosa, the son of former Miami Dolphins defender, John Bosa is a wrecking ball in the NFL. He has deveoped into one of the best edge-rushers in the league and his only real job is to disrupt and destroy opposing quarterbacks.
Stopping Bosa will be no easy task and it will be up to Austin Jackson to do so. Jackson has struggled with speed rushers and this could be a problem. Bosa has every tool in the book. He can spin outside and around. He can physically over-power, he can slip underneath the block and split the gap. Jackson? He has to be on his game from the start. He can't try to anticipate what Bosa will do because he will be wrong.
For Jackson, he has to be consistent, keep his weight based evenly and not allow Bosa to get leverage. Jackson won't need a lot of time but he will need to give Tua enough to be able to get the ball away.