It's back on the road again for the Dolphins as the schedule provides a bye week bookended by trips to New England and Indianapolis. Miami took care of business in Week 5 thanks in large part to a 15-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to punch out the Patriots.
Another road win over a team that used to play in the AFC East would get the Dolphins back to the .500 mark for the first time since Week 2. Although 11 games remain after this tilt with the Colts, this contest carries a feeling of an inflection point as the team seeks a second straight win with a backup quarterback in the saddle.
"I do expect to see (Tagovailoa) playing football in 2024," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said earlier in the week. "But where that is exactly, we'll let the process continue since we still have time before you even could entertain anything."
Tagovailoa is eligible to return from injured reserve ahead of the Week 8 matchup with visiting Arizona.
Up first though is a tough Colts team provides an early season test and an important game when looking at the AFC standings. The Colts enter play at 3-3 and in possession of a playoff position but come in with injury questions of their own.
The playing status of a handful of stars is up in their air 鈥 most notably defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and running back Jonathan Taylor. Buckner has been down since Week 1 and, as a result, the Colts have allowed more rushing yards (931) than any team in the NFL.
If Taylor cannot go, the Colts offensive approach changes drastically. With the former rushing champ in the lineup, Head Coach (and play caller) Shane Steichen dials up the run game 45 percent of the time. Without Taylor, the Colts run the ball only 33 percent of their offensive snaps.
Regardless of who is playing tailback for the Colts, the Dolphins will need stout play once again from defensive tackles Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell. By every metric, this pairing has been one of the best tandems on the inside across the NFL. They both rank among the top 10 defensive tackles in stop rate and overall quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
"I think just stacking wins." Campbell said. "I think just having two wins back-to-back is huge, but at the end of the day, you're never worried about the actual record or anything else, you just try to be 1-0 for this week, that's it."
One position we have clarity with for the Colts is the quarterback. Steichen said earlier this week that he anticipates Anthony Richardson will re-enter the lineup after a hip injury afforded veteran Joe Flacco two starts. The Colts went 1-1 in those games.
Richardson is a big play waiting to happen but has been turnover prone early on his career. He's thrown six interceptions compared to just three touchdowns this season.
If the Dolphins can limit his ability to extend plays and force him to play from the pocket, then there's no reason to think Miami can't continue to do what they've done all year, which is limit opposing offensive production. The Dolphins rank sixth in the league allowing just 285.4 yards per game.
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 20 at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX, and listen on the Dolphins Radio Network and view the Game Center for the latest coverage.
