Here’s a look at how the Miami Dolphins (3-1) and New York Giants (1-3) match up in six key areas ahead of Sunday’s Week 5 game at Hard Rock Stadium (1 p.m., Fox):
When the Dolphins run: Rookie running back De’Von Achane continued to display his phenomenal speed, vision and even tackle-breaking ability in last Sunday’s 48-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He was one of the few bright spots as he became the first Dolphin since 2017 to have back-to-back 100-yard games (Kenyan Drake) and scored a pair of touchdowns. Veteran Raheem Mostert would like to have that game back after collecting just 9 yards on seven carries and fumbling twice, losing one of them.
Achane could be in line for a continued increase in workload, and coach Mike McDaniel wants to stick to the run longer than he did vs. the Bills as the score was getting out of hand. Miami could get center Connor Williams back for the Giants game, which would provide a boost after Liam Eichenberg struggled as a replacement at the position. Either way, the Dolphins will be without bulldozing left tackle Terron Armstead.
The Giants have a big three-man defensive line with 345-pound nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, 320-pound A’Shawn Robinson and 305-pound fellow defensive end Leonard Williams. It’s certainly something on McDaniel’s radar as he made two mentions of it in his Wednesday news conference. Nonetheless, New York is 25th in the league against the run, and there should be opportunities for Miami’s top-ranked rushing offense. Edge: Dolphins
When the Giants run: A big key here is if star running back Saquon Barkley can play after missing two weeks with an ankle injury, and then how much of a workload he can handle if he does play. Even then, Barkley was only at 3.9 yards per carry when he was available this season. Matt Breida has started in his place the past two weeks and Gary Brightwell has spelled him, but both are under 3.0 yards per carry.
The Giants’ 23rd-ranked run offense faces a 22nd-ranked Dolphins’ run defense that has held up well since the atrocious performance against the run in the opener at the Chargers. The Dolphins have to simply tackle better than they did against the Bills, but you can expect the defense to come out fired up after giving up 48 points to Buffalo in a return home. Miami also must watch for quarterback Daniel Jones, the Giants’ leading rusher, as a scrambler. Edge: Dolphins
When the Dolphins pass: Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should have an easier time finding receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle than he did against the Bills. The Giants don’t play Buffalo’s Cover 2 that was effective in limiting Hill and Waddle. Tagovailoa is still leading the No. 1 passing offense coming off his September AFC Offensive Player of the Month.
The Bills were also able to apply pressure with their four-man rush, and that disrupted the timing of the offense as Tagovailoa was sacked four times and hit nine times. The Giants blitz at a much higher rate, so if Tagovailoa can read the areas vacated by it, he’ll have success. Williams, at center, truly holds that line together when he’s in. Kendall Lamm has been an adequate replacement left tackle when Armstead has been out.
New York has a middle-of-the-pack pass defense, ranked No. 15. Xavier McKinney, Tagovailoa’s former Alabama teammate, is in the secondary. Second-year edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux has three of the team’s four sacks on the young season, so extra resources may be allocated to containing him. The Giants have not forced a turnover yet through four games. Edge: Dolphins
When the Giants pass: They were an absolute mess Monday night against the Seahawks, surrendering 11 sacks. Under constant duress, Jones has thrown six interceptions and just two touchdowns, completing 68.7 percent of passes for 5.8 yards per attempt. The line certainly missed left tackle Andrew Thomas, whose status is in doubt again ahead of Sunday’s game.
This is an opportunity for Andrew Van Ginkel to continue to rack up his sacks, and for Bradley Chubb to get going or Jaelan Phillips if he returns from an oblique injury. Maybe defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler could get into the pressure mix, as well. Or defensive coordinator Vic Fangio can opt to utilize the blitz more often, as it has been effective when he goes to it.
But the big takeaway from Fangio was how he refused to have cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Kader Kohou switch sides of the field against Buffalo. Stefon Diggs went to Kohou’s side all game and gave him a rough time. The Giants don’t have a wide receiver worthy of nearly as much attention as Diggs, but the Dolphins will have to make sure they have an answer for 6-foot-6 tight end Darren Waller. Will that responsibility mostly fall on safety Jevon Holland or will Fangio give him different looks? Edge: Dolphins
Special teams: Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders has now gone 11 quarters without making a field goal after a second consecutive game where he didn’t get an attempt. You have to go back to the first quarter against New England, after he later had one blocked and missed a 55-yarder. Coordinator Danny Crossman is actually coming off a game where there weren’t many complaints over his unit, despite the rest of Miami’s efforts being a debacle in Buffalo.
Giants kicker Graham Gano has missed two of his six field goals this season in his own right. Jamie Gillan is New York’s punter, and Eric Gray handles returns. Edge: Even
Intangibles: The Dolphins should come in motivated after their first loss of the season. The defense, like it did Week 2 against the Patriots following a poor performance in the opener against the Chargers, should be inspired to play better. The Giants are flat-out bad in just about every area, and they come into the early-October heat and humidity of Miami Gardens on a short week after getting embarrassed by Seattle on “Monday Night Football.” Edge: Dolphins
PREDICTION: Dolphins 34, Giants 13
