Lamar Miller Will Be X-Factor For Miami Dolphins In Week 8

By Alexander Christian @CouchGuyRants on October 22, 2014

Coming off a dominant win over the Chicago Bears, the Miami Dolphins travel up I-95 to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Jaguars are coming off an impressive win as well — having shut down the Cleveland Browns 24-6 — and are looking to build on the positives established during the team’s first win. On paper, the Miami Dolphins should roll easily in this matchup, but the ‘Phins have been nothing, if not inconsistent this season when it comes to which version of team will show up.

Jacksonville’s defense has prided itself on getting to the quarterback consistently this season, and is second in the NFL in sacks, but the unit has struggled when the opposing passer has time to throw. Couple that with the fact the Jaguars are 15th in the league against the run, allowing 110.3 yards per game, and a game plan starts to develop: run the ball, keep the defense honest and exploit a sub-par secondary.

Last week, the Jaguars held the Browns to 69 yards on 30 carries, and absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. Miami has averaged 136.3 yards per game on the ground and rank as the fourth best rushing offense in the league so far, with a running back rotation that has been anchored by Lamar Miller after injuries sidelined Knowshon Moreno for the season. Miller, who has seen his production drop the last two weeks, will need to be a consistent source of yardage to keep the hounds at bay, and give Ryan Tannehill time to establish the play-action passing game that worked so well against Chicago.

If Miller can consistently gain enough yards to keep the defense honest, and by extension, give Ryan Tannehill time to throw the ball to receivers down the field bound to be open against a miserable Jaguars secondary, the Dolphins will get back over .500 and remain firmly planted in the playoff hunt. If not, the Dolphins may end up looking at the EverBank Field scoreboard much the same way Cleveland did a week ago.