The Miami Dolphins are looking to get to .500 on the season and keep the Indianapolis Colts winless as both teams enter week four of the NFL season. With numerous injuries on both sides, Miami will enter the contest as -1.5 favorites.
Brissett, Wentz Have Tall Task in Faceoff
This matchup will feature Colts (0-3) quarterback Carson Wentz against Dolphins (1-2) quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is making his second start with Miami with Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve.
Wentz has more experience as a starter than Brissett, but he won't have the home field advantage. Brissett will also be in a revenge-game situation after playing for Indianapolis from 2017-20 and signing with the Dolphins in free agency this offseason, even though he spoke to the media about not being in that mindset.
"I'm not here for a revenge game or anything," Brissett said during his press conference on Wednesday. "I want to go to win because of playing football and playing in the National Football League. You know we need a win and that's the purpose of that."
Both QBs will lead offenses that have struggled to close out games this season into a matchup that can go either way.
Looking at the current stats for both teams, the Colts average 342 yards per game as a whole, while the Dolphins average 292 yards. Indianapolis gives up 383 yards per game to Miami's more than 400. While neither are good, the Colts have the slight edge in YPG. It's important to note however, that Miami's offense has struggled immensely the last two weeks, making its secondary play more than most in the league.
Miami Hoping Energy that Took it to OT Carries Over
Miami is coming off a 31-28 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. The Dolphins jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but gave up 25 unanswered and had to claw back to send the game to an extra quarter.
In the fourth quarter of that game, Miami scored 11 straight points to force overtime after falling behind 25-14 early in the fourth quarter. But a spark of offense from Brissett, with a rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion to wide receiver Will Fuller, proved Miami won't give up without a fight.
The Dolphins will look to carry their late momentum from the fourth quarter into Sunday's matchup.
"That's what we've been talking about, is just building off that momentum. After the game we obviously lost but we did a lot of good things and especially coming from the week before that," Brissett said. "You know just finding those key things that we knew we wanted to harp on and get better at, and we did a lot of those things, so to just find ways to keep doing those more and more , and obviously pushing that mindset of we can't wait until the fourth quarter to actually play football."
Miami Leads All-Time Series, Won Last Meeting as Underdog
Miami leads the all time series between the two teams 48-27.
The last meeting between the Dolphins and the Colts resulted in a 16-12 win in Indianapolis. Then, the Dolphins were thought to be tanking, but weren't, and pulled off an upset on the road.
This go round, ESPN is giving the Dolphins a 56-percent chance of winning at home on the season to improve to 2-2. It would be Miami's first home win, as the Dolphins dropped their home opener in shutout fashion to the Buffalo Bills in week two.
"This is a good team, I would say it's a very good team," Miami head coach Brian Flores said. "I know they've (Indianapolis) played some tough opponents, they've been in every game. They've got good players, they've got good coaches, they're skilled. You know every game is a meaningful game in this league, and they're looking for a win, and we're looking for a win. That's what the preparation is about this week in all three phases."
Without Tagovailoa leading at QB, it could be a matchup that gets the Colts their first win of the year. To see who will come out on top, you will have to tune at 1:00 p.m. eastern on Sunday to see.
Around FPC
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NFL: Buccaneers Sign Cornerback Richard Sherman
NFL: Digging Deeper: Dolphins Drop OT Thriller to Raiders
NHL: Mackenzie Blackwood Puts Team In Devilish Situation
Wrestling: WWE Draft: 3 Best & 3 Worst Picks From The 2020 WWE Draft
PODCAST: FPC Radio LIVE -9/28 - NFL Week 3 Recap; Quarterback Power Rankings
– Daniel Roberts is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on and Facebook.
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