Setting the Stage for the Week 14 Dolphins-Chargers Matchup
The Miami Dolphins will look to improve to 9-4 on the season when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night.
Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 14 Dolphins-Chargers matchup:
MIAMI DOLPHINS (8-4) vs. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (6-6)
DATE: Sunday, Dec. 11
TIME: 8:20 p.m. ET
SITE: SoFi Stadium; Inglewood, Calif.
TV: NBC
Announcers: Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color analyst), Melissa Starks (sidelines)
STREAMING: fuboTV (start your free trial)
SI Sportsbook betting line: Dolphins by 1.5 (over/under 52.5)
Dolphins — WR River Cracraft (calf) is doubtful; T Terron Armstead (toe/pec) is doubtful; QB Teddy Bridgewater (knee), TE Durham Smythe (quad/knee) and DT Justin Zimmer (back) are questionable.
Chargers — CB Bryce Callahan (groin), S Derwin James Jr. (quadricep), DL Sebastian Joseph-Day (knee) and T Trey Pipkins III (knee) are doubtful; TE Richard Rodgers (knee) is questionable.
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FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM
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Regular season series history: Dolphins lead 17-14
Last five meetings:
Nov. 15, 2020 at Miami — Dolphins 29, Chargers 21
Sept. 29, 2019 at Miami — Chargers 30, Dolphins 10
Sept. 17, 2017 at Los Angeles — Dolphins 19, Chargers 17
Nov. 13, 2016 at San Diego — Dolphins 31, Chargers 24
Dec. 20, 2015 at San Diego — Chargers 30, Dolphins 14
Dolphins' largest margin of victory: 37 (2014 at Miami; Dolphins 37, Chargers 0)
Dolphins' largest margin of defeat: 34 (1966 at San Diego; Chargers 44, Dolphins 10)
Highest-scoring matchup: 78 points (1986 at San Diego; Chargers 50, Dolphins 28)
Lowest-scoring matchup: 21 points (1999 at Miami; Dolphins 12, Chargers 9)
Former Chargers players with the Dolphins:
LB Melvin Ingram, Safeties coach Steve Gregory, Wide receivers coach Wes Welker
Former Chargers coaches with the Dolphins:
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith was run game coordinator/offensive line coach for the Chargers in 2021.
Former Dolphins players with the Chargers:
OLB Kyle Van Noy, OLB Jamal Davis, RB Sony Michel (training camp, 2022), offensive assistant Pat White
Former Dolphins coaches with the Chargers:
Passing game coordinator Shane Day, defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill
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CHARGERS SCOUTING REPORT
The Chargers find themselves through 12 games pretty much where they've been. the last few years, scratching and clawing to get into the playoffs. This season, this has to be considered a major disappointment because the Chargers were a popular pick in the offseason as a team that could shake up the Buffalo-Kansas City dominance atop the AFC. But the Chargers have been crushed by injuries as they seemingly always are, losing front-line players Rashawn Slater, Joey Bosa and J.C. Jackson early in the season, and also not having wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams together for a full game all year. The defense, despite the offseason additions of Khalil Mack and Jackson along with new defensive tackles, is just as bad against the run as it was last season. Quarterback Justin Herbert is having statistically his worst NFL season so far, but he's dealt with tough circumstances around him (shaky O-line, the Allen/Williams injuries), along with playing through a rib injury for a few weeks. The bottom line is that this Chargers team has the ability to come up big at times but lacks the consistency to be better than a .500 team at this time.
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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN ...
Even at the beginning of the week, this game looked like it provided a great opportunity for Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense to rebound after the shaky performance against the San Francisco 49ers. But now the stage is set for a big, big rebound performance with the Chargers having three defensive starters — tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day, slot corner Bryce Callahan and safety Derwin James Jr. — all listed as doubtful after not practicing all week. With Joey Bosa on IR since September with a groin injury, the Chargers have three sacks in their past four games combined and James is easily the best defensive back on the team. We haven't even mentioned that the Chargers are allowing a league-worst 5.4 yards per rushing attempt — the worst showing since the 1950s — so it may be that the biggest Dolphins problem on offense in this game is deciding whether to gain yardage on the ground or through the air. If the reason Tua was off his game against the 49ers was the quality of the defense he was facing, then he should be humming again because this matchup hardly could be more favorable for the Dolphins offense.
THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE ...
The only way imaginable for the Dolphins not to score a lot of points in this game — given the way Tua and company performed in the weeks before the 49ers game — would be with sloppy mistakes like penalties or turnovers or if they somehow let Khalil Mack loose and he has a huge game rushing the passer. And even then, the possibility of having Terron Armstead back at left tackle would decrease that possibility. No, the more likely the Dolphins will lose this game if they do end up losing would be by coming up on the wrong side of a shootout. While their injury problems got worse on defense, the Chargers will be getting some major upgrades on offense with the return of Mike Williams for the first time since he played six snaps in Week 11 and the return of 2021 Pro Bowl center Corey Linsley after he missed a game with a concussion. This version of the Chargers offense has the ability to move the ball, and the Dolphins have yet to allow fewer than 27 points in any road game this season. So that would be the cause for concern.
FINAL DOLPHINS-CHARGERS PREDICTION
The NFL moved this matchup mostly because of the showdown between the 2020 first-round QBs and everything that's unfolded this week has set the stage for a shootout where Tua and Herbert both could end up putting up big passing numbers and it might not take that many big defensive plays to swing the outcome. And this is where, as we wrote early in the week, the Dolphins have the clear advantage. In the final analysis, if this indeed turns into a shootout and one big defensive play can make the difference, the Dolphins have a lot more strong candidates — Bradley Chubb, Melvin Ingram, Jaelan Phillips, Xavien Howard — to be able to author that kind of play than the Chargers. How's this for a Hollywood script (fitting since the game is in L.A.)? Both teams move the ball up and down all game, and the game is decided when former UCLA star Phillips sacks and strips Herbert to clinch a Dolphins victory. Even if it doesn't play out that way, this has the makings of a really fun game to watch and it's also a game the Dolphins should win (though it won't be easy). Final score: Dolphins 34, Chargers 31.
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