The Las Vegas Raiders will face the Miami Dolphins on the road for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Dolphins won a much closer game than anyone expected.
However, a year later, last season’s matchup undoubtedly impacts this Sunday’s game in Miami. Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham noted how well the Dolphins’ offense runs when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is healthy.
"Absolutely, the main thing that stands out, the continuity they have when Tua [Tagovailoa] is in there at the quarterback position, the ball gets out so fast,” Graham said.
“He's a quick decision-maker in terms of the passing game. But like I've told you before, when I see these younger quarterbacks develop, it's the decisions they make in the run game that impressed me the most.”
Graham’s career in the National Football League has spanned decades. He says Tagovailoa’s ability to quickly make the right reads and passes rivals some of the best quarterbacks ever.
“Going back to when I first got in the league, I was always impressed with the elite quarterbacks that we were facing,” Graham said.
“Whether in practice with [Tom] Brady, seeing Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers; it's the decisions they make in the run game that are some of the stuff that get overlooked.
“And you can see that he's doing a good job with that. Obviously, you take some stuff from the game and try to apply it.
“You try to take away some things schematically, see if it's still applicable for us this year. But the main thing is to be able to go down there to South Florida and play a certain way, make it look and sound the right way.
“Have a to-do list in terms of how we have to play the game and making sure that we're clear with the players and the coaches, from my standpoint as the coordinator, of what I deem we need to do to win the game."
The game between the Raiders and the Dolphins has many of the same components as last year's matchup. With the Raiders coming off their bye week, the Silver and Black aim to pull off an upset on the road.
