The lights of NBC’s Sunday Night Football will again shine on the Miami Dolphins this week as the Fins take the field against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Fresh off the team’s first loss in its last six games, the Fins know they need to get a victory this week to keep alive their hopes of winning the AFC East - and possibly being in the running for the best record in the conference and a chance to stay home to host most of the postseason.
On the other side of the field is a Chargers team who also suffered a setback last week against a divisional foe. Now, Los Angeles finds themselves needing a win to get back in the race for the final playoff spot in the conference with just five weeks left in the regular season.
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Here’s a complete preview of Sunday’s AFC showdown between the Fins and the Bolts you can watch right here on NBC 6.
Miami Dolphins Preview
Sports
After five straight wins that had the aqua and orange sitting in first place in the AFC East, Miami dropped its first game since mid-October with a 33-17 loss to San Francisco. Now 8-4 on the year, the Dolphins hope to avoid the first losing streak for the team since it dropped three straight games early in the year.
For the season, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has kept himself in the MVP conversation by throwing for over 2,800 yards along with 21 touchdowns. Offseason acquisition Tyreek Hill has gotten nearly half those yards with 1,370 yards and five touchdowns for the wide receiver. WR Jaylen Waddle needs just 28 yards to have 1,000 receiving yards this season while Raheem Mostert leads Miami in rushing yards with 573 and three touchdowns.
On defense, linebacker Elandon Roberts leads the team in tackles with 75 while fellow linebacker Melvin Ingram leads Miami with six sacks. Bradley Chubb, the All-Pro linebacker acquired at the trade deadline from Denver, has 2.5 sacks in his four games with the Fins. On the season, Miami has just seven interceptions through 12 games, with safety Jevon Holland being the only player with multiple interceptions this season.
Los Angeles Chargers Preview
After a 27-20 loss on the road last weekend at the Las Vegas Raiders, the men from SoCal find themselves one game out of the AFC Playoff picture. The good news if you’re a fan of the Bolts is that they play just two of their final five games against teams with winning records.
Quarterback Justin Herbet has thrown for over 3,300 yards along with 20 touchdowns this season while wide receiver Joshua Palmer leads the team with 612 yards receiving. Austin Ekeler has been a dual threat as the running back leads the team with 589 yards rushing and three touchdowns while also being second on the team with 564 yards receiving and five touchdowns.
On defense, the Chargers have two players with over 100 tackles this season in linebacker Drue Tranquil and safety (and former FSU star) Derwin James Jr. Linebacker Khalil Mack, acquired in the offseason in a trade from Chicago, leads the team with seven sacks while cornerback Bryce Callahan leads the team with three interceptions.
Another Important Battle
Miami leads the all-time series between the teams 19-16, but the Chargers have won the two biggest showdowns between the teams in the postseason. In the 1981 divisional playoff, the Dolphins dropped a 41-38 overtime classic to what was then the San Diego Chargers.
After Miami got wins in the 1982 and 1993 postseason, the Chargers evened the score with a 22-21 win in the 1994 divisional round thanks to a controversial touchdown call for San Diego running back Natrone Means.
Road Trip on the West Coast
This will be the first time since the 2016 season that the Dolphins are playing back-to-back road games in California. That season, Miami defeated the San Diego Chargers before beating the Los Angeles Rams on the way to the first playoff appearance for the Fins since the 2008 season.
Peacock Power
Sunday’s game will be the first time since NBC acquired the rights to Sunday Night Football in the 2006 season that Miami will be on the network twice in one season. The last time the Dolphins were on NBC multiple times in one year was in 1997, which was the last season the network had the rights to broadcast AFC games. Click here to watch the game live.
What a Win Means for Miami
If the Dolphins can come out on top over the Chargers, it would keep them in contention for the AFC East crown with the Buffalo Bills - who Miami will play on Saturday, December 17 on the road. It will also give the Fins a winning regular season for the third straight year, something Miami hasn’t done since having seven straight winning years from 1997 to 2003.
