Oakland Raiders vs Miami Dolphins – Week 13 Sunday: NFL Preview
The Oakland Raiders fare well with three consecutive wins as they rule the AFC West. This Sunday they will be looking forward to a fourth straight win when they visit Miami. They have not had four straight wins in the past nine
years and are in tough competition with the Denvers who trail behind them with just one game.
Raiders’ last victory 25-20 over Chicago was a close call which gave them the first position in the division. However with Darren McFadden’s injury still lingering, they have something to worry about. McFadden still nurses a foot
sprain which has resulted in Raiders rushing offence ranking falling to fourth place from a second place. They have averaged 136 yards per game in their last five games. In McFadden’s absence, Michael Bush has stepped in to fill the gap. With 106 yards per
game, it seems that Bush would undo the loss due to McFadden’s injury. McFadden returned to practice taking part in light workouts but is still uncertain. He missed the practice on Thursday, as did Sebastian Janikowski, Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore.
Raiders’ record against the Miami has not been impressive with eight of the last nine encounters in the past 14 years having been won by the Dolphins. The last meeting resulted in a 33-17 spurn for the Oakland in 2010. This time
the Miami will be playing while knowing that they have been eliminated from the round offs. However the Miami remains a tough opponent having won three of their last four games. The Raiders team though is hopeful.
"It's a good feeling for us to be able to be in first place and not have to look. Oh, hopefully somebody loses or get this win and hopefully this team loses," receiver Louis Murphy said.
The Miami defence has been allowing a mere 72.2 rushing yards in their last five games which off course would be a source of concern. Dolphins held the Dallas to 85 yards in their last game even though they lost on field goal.
The Oakland were restricted to just 73 yards of rushing in their last game on Sunday. This was their seasons lowest and far lower than their average of about 150 yards. This is where they will have to show their improvement and Bush would need to increase
his efforts.
Matt Moore has had 1607 yards of passing and 8 touchdowns this season. His last game performance was 288 yards that included a touchdown pass. Brandon Marshall has had 850 yards of receiving with three touchdowns. Both Moore and
Marshall along with Reggie Bush would pose a challenge to the Raiders.
Head Coach for the Dolphins Tony Sparano may soon lose his job but is still confident the Dolphins would hit back.
"We don't get any style points for a loss," Sparano said. "We'll string some more together here, we'll get back at it. I told them I was proud of them."
The Oakland also faced another problem with Linebacker Rolando McClain undergoing arrest on Thursday for holding a gun onto a man’s head and threatening him to shoot. He was released after signing a $2,000 bond. The Raiders and
NFL are yet to take an action against him.
The Dolphins allow an average of 248.1 yards when it comes to passing, ranking 24th in NFL. They are all geared up to face Carson Palmer. Palmer threw passes for 301 yards in the last game against Chicago.
Oakland coach Hue Jackson was confident of Palmer. He told the press, "This guy's a proven passer. He knows how to throw the ball and he'd be the first to tell you there's throws that are normally layups for him.”
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