The Dolphins are back on the road in Week 7 searching for their first victory away from Hard Rock Stadium this season. Miami's last road victory came at Huntington Bank Field last December, the home of the team they'll see this week, the Cleveland Browns.
This week, the Dolphins could be battling something besides the opposing team. The weather report on the shores of Lake Erie calls for high winds and heavy rains.
If the conditions limit options in the passing game, both teams feature a run game they can lean on. Miami sprung star running back De'Von Achane on a 49-yard touchdown scamper Sunday against the Chargers. He posted season-highs in rushing yards (128) and yards from scrimmage (150). Achane also scored twice, giving him 29 career touchdowns.
"He's a great runner. He's a great receiver. They can line him up everywhere," Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski said of Achane. "They do a great job of using all 53-and-a-third (yards) of the field and making you defend all of it. He gets your attention very quickly. That speed's legit."
Paving the way for Achane is breakout second-year left tackle Patrick Paul. Paul is among the top-five tackles in the NFL this season, both in pass block win rate, as well as average time-to-pressure.
Sunday marks one of Paul's biggest test this year as he faces a former Defensive Player of the Year in Cleveland's defensive end Myles Garrett. Garrett has averaged 15 sacks per season the last four years and is off to another hot start with four sacks in six games this season.
"He's an excellent player and I'm really excited to go against him," Paul said. "You watch him, a tackle could be in great position and he still wins. He's a very, very good football player, so this is going to be really fun and I'm very excited."
The Dolphins run game is complemented by their ability to be versatile via bigger personnel groupings. Since the injury of wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Miami has deployed more two-back and two-tight-end sets than any other point of the last four seasons (Head Coach Mike McDaniel's arrival). This has helped the Dolphins run game but also sets up their play action passing game.
"When you have those bigger groupings, you anticipate this version of the defense is going to come out and then did you get it? If you get it, OK, now you can go into different parts of the manipulation of the attack of the plan," Dolphins Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith said. "Which then would in turn make them adjust, or not adjust, or they keep doing what they're doing like some guys do. I think it ultimately is the versatility of your guys allows each grouping to take on a life of its own."
On offense, Cleveland's run game operates through rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. In five games, Judkins has run for 383 yards and two touchdowns. He also boasts a 50 percent success rate on his carries, 13th best in the NFL among qualified running backs.
Cleveland rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel will make his third start of the season. Though the Browns are 0-2 in his starts, Gabriel hasn't turned the ball over on 89 pass attempts.
Sunday's game marks a feat that hasn't happened in the NFL in almost 20 years. Gabriel, like Tagovailoa, is a left-handed passer. The last time an NFL regular-season game featured a pair of south paw passers was 2006 when Michael Vick's Falcons beat Chris Simms's Buccaneers, 14-3.
Tagovailoa and Gabriel also share a hometown. Both players are from Honolulu.
"I knew of him as he was growing up, and then I think I might have played one year as he was maybe a freshman or something playing varsity," Tagovailoa said. "Knew about him then and as he went into college and did his thing. Smooth thrower, can run, sees the field really well, and he's a Hawaii boy, so you always got to support the guys from back home."
Make sure to check out the Injury Report and the team's official social media accounts 90 minutes before kickoff to see who is active for the game.
Watch the game live on Sunday, October 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, and listen on the Dolphins Radio Network and view the Game Center for the latest coverage.
