Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates must be stopped if the Miami Dolphins expect to make it 3 wins in a row this Sunday at Sun Life Stadium. The San Diego Chargers best hope, perhaps even their only hope is to be able to cover Miami's wide selection of receiving options with as fewest players as possible, so that they apply pressure on Miami Dolphins' quarterback Ryan Tannehill and slow down Miami's running attack.
The Dolphins have struggled covering tight ends in the past, but have shown some improvement this year, however, they haven't faced the combination of Rivers and Gates yet this year which is a different story. The best way to cover Gates for the Dolphins will be to break up his route timing by jamming him at the line of scrimmage by a big body whose also athletic enough to cover when Gates breaks loose. Philip Wheeler's difficulties in pass coverage are well documented and at times he has performed below expectations while last year's 1st round selection Dion Jordan doesn't have the experience required to take on someone like the Chargers' star tight end. The way Miami takes on this monumental task, may very well end up being the single most important key to this game but chances are the Dolphins will have to rely on someone like Jordan in order to accomplish this.
Miami may have a bit more breathing room than they have had in recent weeks and will probably get for the balance of their November brutal schedule. It is important for the Dolphins to stay with the type of plays that cater to their strengths although they may enjoy the rare luxury of mixing up of from the pocket plays with the read option, handing off to Lamar Miller and Damian Williams and designed roll outs.
San Diego's best hope is to harass Tannehill as much as possible and hope to take away the underneath routes from Miami, while trying to slow down Miami's rushing attack. Miami must remain committed to the pass rush, using only their front 4 unless it's a 4th and long situation and execute on offense. The Dolphins will prove too much for the Chargers to deal with under South Florida's warm sun and Miami should be able to beat San Diego by a score of 24 to 21 in the end.