Miami

Week Ten Preview: Dolphins at Chargers

The Dolphins will look for their fourth win in a row when they take on the Chargers on Sunday

The Miami Dolphins will try and make it four wins in a row when they face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Miami's recent run has put it back into the playoff picture and has given the team some much needed momentum. After facing the prospect of a long season, the Dolphins could have a winning record after this contest. Beating the Chargers in San Diego will not be an easy task for Miami however.

The Chargers are 4-5 this season, but are 3-1 when playing at home. The Dolphins meanwhile are 0-3 in their road games this season. This combination points to a San Diego victory, though Miami has played better football as of late. All of Miami's road games came during the first quarter of the season.

The Dolphins have winning lately due in large part to the activity of Jay Ajayi. The running back has rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games. Despite facing the top rushing defense in the NFL, Ajayi had another big game last week against the New York Jets. Ajayi's success has allowed head coach Adam Gase and quarterback Ryan Tannehill to open up the playbook.

San Diego has a solid rushing defense itself and has only allowed 85.3 yards on the ground on average this season. The Chargers however struggle with stopping the passing game. Opposing teams have posted an average of 279.3 yards in the air against San Diego. Tannehill has averaged 218 yards per contest on his passes. If Ajayi can get anything going on the ground, Tannehill could be poised for a huge day in San Diego.

Another item to keep an eye on for Miami will be third down conversions. When the Dolphins struggled early in the year, it was largely due to three-and-outs. San Diego has allowed opposing teams to convert nearly 40% of the time on third down.

Tannehill has done a good job as of late of maintaining possession of the ball. Interceptions have become a thing of the past for Miami's quarterback after a rough start to the season. San Diego QB Philip Rivers meanwhile has four interceptions in his last three games. The Dolphins have not done well defensively against running games this year, and will need to make up for that with some pressure on Rivers.

Sunday's game will begin at 4:05 p.m.

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