The Miami Dolphins have lost 10 of their last 11 games at home, and they desperately want to make things right with their home fans. The Phins have another opportunity to do so Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans pay a visit to South Beach for a 4:15 p.m. kickoff.
Houston is coming off a blowout victory over the Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts, and the Dolphins lost to the New England Patriots Monday night in a record-setting offensive display coupled with a deplorable defensive showing.
Will the real Miami defense stand up?
Miami’s performance against the Patriots was inspiring on offense and discouraging on defense. Quarterback Chad Henne threw for more than 400 yards and two scores while rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown. However, the Dolphins’ defense gave up more than 500 passing yards to Tom Brady and surrendered 38 points at home.
“It’s a very important time for us,” safety Yeremiah Bell said, according to the Miami Herald. “We played that Monday night game, and that was embarrassing to us, especially defensively. We felt like our offense did enough to win the game. But defensively, we got embarrassed because it was something we should never put on tape."
Brady and the Pats’ well-oiled offensive machine have made many defenses look silly in the past, but the Dolphins need a huge bounce back Sunday against the Texans if they want to live up to the hype that has them as a top-10 defensive unit.
Dolphins' D-front should keep Texans' blockers a-Wake
Outside linebacker Cameron Wake was mostly kept under control by Patriots rookie tackle Nate Solder, but Wake did get to Brady for the team’s lone sack. Vontae Davis and Sean Smith also need to put together a solid outing Sunday if they want to be respected as a better-than-average corner tandem. Locking down Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones (Assuming Kevin Walter can’t go) — which is a tall task — would help Wake and the pass rush smother Matt Schaub.
“(Wake) presents a lot of problems for you. On nickel, he moves around and the way they play their 3-4, he plays both sides, so you’re not going to lock him into one side," Texans coach Gary Kubiak told reporters Friday. "We could get locked up on him with some tight ends, some backs, as well as our tackles, but they’re very good on both edges... They can go get the quarterback. They’ll zero out a bunch. We’ll have to protect Matt (Schaub).”
Offense needs to prove Monday wasn’t a fluke
Henne and the passing offense’s performance is definitely something to be excited about, but we can’t forget that New England’s defense just isn’t very good.
A repeat performance against another subpar Texans secondary would do wonders for Miami’s confidence moving forward and would allow some room for the running game to get going. We’re all still curious to see if Reggie Bush can consistently handle the load of a No. 1 running back’s responsibilities.
“There were a lot of key plays left out there on the field, especially on the goal-line,” Bush said about the offense's performance against the Patriots, according to the Miami Herald. “We should have come away with touchdowns. We felt that it could have been the difference of winning and losing the game. So we have a ways to go. We’ve got a lot of corrections to make.”
Other notes
The teams will be playing in mid- to high-80s weather… bummer; Arian Foster is slated to start Sunday, returning from a strained hamstring.
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