Two teams looking to rebound from disappointing Week 1 performances face off Sunday, as the Oakland Raiders travel to meet the Miami Dolphins.
Oakland will be flying cross-country on a short week after falling to the San Diego Chargers 22-14 on Monday Night Football. The Raiders were doomed after a concussion knocked out long snapper Jon Condo in the first half and his replacement, linebacker Travis Goethel, struggled just to get the ball back to punter Shane Lechler. It was a novel way to lose.
As for Miami, they hung tough with the Houston Texans for most of the first half Sunday before imploding late in the second quarter with four consecutive turnovers, including three interceptions thrown by rookie Ryan Tannehill. What was a 3-0 Dolphins’ lead quickly turned into a 24-3 deficit and the Texans never looked back, cruising to a 30-10 victory.
Here are three key matchups to watch Sunday that will help decide who gets to .500, and who will have to try and climb out of an 0-2 hole.
Cameron Wake vs. Khalif Barnes
Khalif Barnes struggled last week in pass protection against San Diego (-2.8 pass block), and yielded a sack and four hurries. It was Barnes’ worst pass-blocking grade since late in the 2008 season when he was with Jacksonville. His task doesn’t get any easier this week as he matches up against Miami’s best defensive player, Cameron Wake.
While an outside linebacker in 2011, Wake finished tied for third in our Pass Rushing Productivity rating among all 3-4 outside linebackers. Could he be as productive once the Dolphins moved to a 4-3? Well, given that he spent 68.9% of all plays with his hand on the ground last year, it was never going to be the biggest transition in the world, and he started the year in superb fashion. He ended last week's game against Houston with two hits and two more hurries, and earned a +2.7 pass rush rating.
Ryan Tannehill – Thrown to the Wolves
Ryan Tannehill was one of five rookie quarterbacks who started in Week 1 and with a matchup on the road against the Texans, who present one of the most formidable defenses in the league, it was not a recipe for success. Like every other rookie quarterback last week not named Robert Griffin III, he struggled. Despite a conservative game plan that saw Tannehill throw only 7 of his 36 passes over 10 yards, he still only managed to complete just over 55% of his attempts on the day, and his three second-quarter interceptions broke the game open for the Texans.
What might become an ongoing concern for the Dolphins’ offense is that two of Tannehill’s three interceptions came on batted passes. There’s no doubt the Raiders will be working on getting their hands up in the passing lanes this week to try and duplicate the Texans’ success.
It also doesn’t help that there is a lack of weapons for Miami on the outside. A receiving core that features Davone Bess, Legedu Naanee, and Brian Hartline is not going to strike fear into any NFL defense, and that shone through as the Dolphins' receivers caught only half the 18 balls thrown their way for just 98 yards.
There’s no settling-in period in the NFL.
Miami Running Attack vs. Oakland Rush Defense
The biggest positive out of the Raiders’ loss on Monday was the strength of their run defense. Oakland held the Chargers to just 32 yards rushing on 20 carries, and earned a +10.4 grade against the run.
Leading the charge was middle linebacker Rolando McClain, whose +4.3 grade against the run helped him land a spot on PFF’s Team of the Week. Defensive tackle Richard Seymour (+3.7 against the run) and defensive end Matt Shaughnessy (+2.4 run defense) helped plug up the right side in one of the more predictable occurrences on Monday Night Football.
Dolphins’ running back Reggie Bush gained 69 yards last week on 14 carries, and the bulk of those came in the first half before Miami fell behind by 21 points and had to abandon the running game. While his 4.9 yards per carry average looks decent on paper, he graded a -1.2 in the running game and finished the contest with a meager 13.9 elusive rating, as he struggled to get more than his running game gave him.
With fellow running back Daniel Thomas out for Sunday’s game with a concussion, it is likely that Bush will receive the bulk of the carries against the stout Raiders’ run defense. Can he replicate his 100-yard game against Oakland from Week 13 last year? Miami will need him to if they’re going to make it an unhappy Sunday afternoon for Raider Nation.
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