It was as ugly a game as you’ll ever see. Still, Skylar Thompson and the Miami Dolphins defense took down the Joe Flacco lead Jets to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Now we face the Bills for the 3rd time this season, but with Skylar Thompson at the helm yet again, do we even stand a chance?

Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 11, New York Jets 6

Gotta Love It

• Jeff Wilson Jr. (16/72) and Raheem Mostert (11/71) were dominant.
• The defense didn’t let Joe Flacco tear them up.
• The kicking of Jason Sanders and Thomas Morstead was on point.

Hate to See It

• Offense. What offense?
• Zero sacks or interceptions on defense.
• Injuries keep piling up, with Raheem Mostert & Tyreek Hill both suffering injuries.

Final Thoughts

• The final two weeks of our regular season could not have been any uglier. There’s been no offense, the defense can’t get out of its own way, and we’ve suffered more injuries than anyone can count. 
• Despite how awful the last two weeks were, I’m still excited to be in the playoffs. No matter what happens in our third matchup against Buffalo, we are a playoff team for the 2022/2023 season and that’s something to be excited about!

Game Preview: 9-8 Miami Dolphins vs. 13-3 Buffalo Bills

• Regular Season Matchups
  • Miami wins in week 3, 21-19
  • Buffalo wins in week 15, 32-29
• Game Details
  • This game will kick off on Sunday, January 15th at 1:00 pm EST on CBS.
  • The weather will be partly cloudy, with a high of 30 degrees.
  • The betting line has the Bills as 13.5-point favorites.
  • The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bills a 95.7% chance to win.
• Injury Report
  • MIA 
    • Out: Tua Tagovailoa, Raheem Mostert
    • Doubtful: Liam Eichenberg
    • Questionable: Terron Armstead, Bradley Chubb, Kendall Lamm, Brandon Shell, Teddy Bridgewater, Alec Ingold, Cedrick Wilson
  • BUF
    • Questionable: Isaiah McKenzie, Jordan Phillips
• Team Trends
  • The Miami Dolphins will be sporting their 3rd string QB for a second week in a row. Coming off an all-time horrific meltdown of 1-6 in their last 7 games, they have no momentum going into this game as they look to pull off the biggest upset maybe ever against the rival Bills.
  • The Buffalo Bills have been a glass case of emotion following the cancellation of the Bills/Bengals Monday night game due to one of their own (Damar Hamlin) collapsing on the field and being rushed to the hospital. On the football field, they’ve won their last 7 games and look to keep the streak alive as they push towards their first Super Bowl appearance since losing 4-straight back in the early 90s.
• Keys to the Game
  • Nobody is expecting us to win this game, not myself, not you, not the media, and probably not even many of the people around the Dolphins building. We have the ultimate underdog advantage, so it’s the perfect time to “get cute” and hit ‘em with an unexpected rope-a-dope.
• Madden Prediction: Dolphins 7, Bills 42
• Fins Family Podcast Final Prediction: Dolphins 13, Bills 32

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What was once looking to be a promising season, has turned into a monstrous disappointment yet again. Instead of controlling our own playoff destiny, we’re now dependent on various outcomes for a shot at the final tourney after losing 5 straight. Skylar Thompson gets the nod this week against the Jets, can he lead Miami to a playoff appearance?!

Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 21, New England Patriots 23

Gotta Love It

• The game plan was great, leaning on Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. worked wonderfully for most of the game. 
• The defense overall was better, but only because of who the opponent was. While the scoreboard says 23, the defense only allowed 17 of the points.
• Elandon Roberts had a day, consistently showing up on defense and special teams.

Hate to See It

• We could put a wooden toy player out there and they’d play better than Eric Rowe.
• Teddy Bridgewater makes me long for the return of Jacoby Brissett. 
• The injuries keep on piling up… the offensive line, defensive backfield, and QB room are decimated.

Final Thoughts

• We’ve lost 5-straight with no real answer in sight. This was an extremely winnable game, marred by penalties and undisciplined play, but even that was overshadowed by the embarrassing performances of the Quarterbacks.

Game Preview: 8-8 Miami Dolphins vs. 7-9 New York Jets

• Playoff Update
  • Miami needs to win and the New England Patriots need to lose to the Buffalo Bills for the Dolphins to clinch the final AFC Playoff spot. 
• Game Details
  • This game will kick off on Sunday, January 8th at 1:00 pm EST on FOX.
  • The weather will be slightly warm, but still nice football weather, clocking in at 78 degrees and partly cloudy, with just a 10% chance of precipitation.
  • The betting line has the Dolphins as 2.5-point favorites. 
• Injury Report
  • MIA 
    • IR: Eric Fisher
    • Out: Tua Tagovailoa
      • Finishes the regular season with 3,548 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and 70 rushing yards. 
      • He played in 12 games this season and sits 1st in yards/attempt, 1st in yards/completion, 5th in yards/game, 4th in QBR, and 1st in QB Rating.
    • Doubtful: Terron Armstead, Kendall Lamm, Cedrick Wilson
    • Questionable: Bradley Chubb, Xavien Howard, Teddy Bridgewater, Alec Ingold, Eric Rowe
  • NYJ
    • Out: Duane Brown, Brandin Echols, George Fant, Lamarcus Joyner, Nate Herbig
    • Questionable: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Jordan Whitehead, Mike White, Ashtyn Davis, C.J. Uzomah
• Team Trends
  • Both teams are looking to break a 5-game losing streak with backup quarterbacks.
  • The Jets have scored just 4 offensive touchdowns in their last 5 games, with 0 in their last 2.
• Keys to the Game
  • Rely heavily on Mostert and Wilson.
  • Thompson’s accuracy is shaky at best, but he’s got wheels. Get him rolling out.
  • The Jets are going to start Joe Flacco, with our depleted secondary, we should go to Boyer’s specialty: BLITZ, BLITZ, BLITZ.
• Madden Prediction: Dolphins 3, Jets 17
• Fins Family Podcast Final Prediction: Dolphins 17, Jets 16

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The Grinch visited our Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day, sending us from a fan base full of hope to rumblings of the “same old Dolphins”. Tua is set to miss more time with another concussion, leaving our playoff fate in the hands of Teddy Bridgewater as we get set for a division clash with the New England Patriots.

Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 20, Green Bay Packers 26

Gotta Love It

• The defense showed a lot of strong play and overall they setup the offense in good position pretty consistently.
• Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are absolute cheat codes, both pulling down the deep ball with ease in the first half. 
• Running on 4th and 1.

Hate to See It

• I can’t say enough how curious I am to see if Mike McDaniel pulls the plug on Josh Boyer. 
• Tua continues to show signs of regression, throwing 3 interceptions in the 4th quarter and ultimately losing us a very winnable game.
• Tua being in the concussion protocol for the second time this season is going to leave a lot of unanswered questions.
• The special teams unit is so bad that they just gave up at one point, kicking a squib that set the Packers up near the 50-yard line.

Final Thoughts

• Tua’s mistakes are snowballing and he doesn’t seem to know how to get out of it. 
• This defense is so promising, with a better coaching staff on that side of the ball we could see a huge turnaround from them next season.

Game Preview: 8-7 Miami Dolphins vs. 7-8 New England Patriots

• Playoff Update
  • The Dolphins would make the playoffs if:
    • They win their final two games
    • They win against the Patriots and the Jets lose week 17
    • They win against the Jets and the Patriots lose week 18
  • The Dolphins would miss the playoffs if:
    • They lose their final two games
    • They go 1-1 and are forced into a tiebreaker with another AFC East team
  • The 5th seed would be up for grabs if the Ravens and Chargers both lost their final two games or if there is a three-way tie at 10-7.
• Injury Report
  • MIA 
    • Questionable: Terron Armstead, Bradley Chubb, River Cracraft, Alec Ingold, Xavien Howard, Greg Little
    • Doubtful: Eric Fisher
    • Out: Tua Tagovailoa
  • NE
    • Questionable: Jalen Mills, Hunter Henry, Jonathan Jones, Rhamondre Stevenson, Tyquan Thornton
    • Out: Jack Jones, Marcus Jones, DeVante Parker, Jonnu Smith
• Team Trends
  • Both teams are 1-4 in their last 5 regular season games.
  • Miami is 4-1 in their last 5 head-to-head matchups with New England.
• Keys to the Game
  • Keep it simple for Teddy, but don’t be so predictable that it leads to turnovers.
  • Tyreek and Waddle should destroy this beat-up secondary, get them the ball.
  • Cover-0 has worked really well against Mac Jones in the past and the Patriots' offense has been in a state of turmoil as of late. Frustrating them early could cause an implosion.
• Madden Prediction: Dolphins 21, Patriots 38
• Fins Family Podcast Final Prediction: Dolphins 24, Patriots 21

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