The Cleveland Browns defense will have their plates full a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving as they take on a high-octane Miami Dolphins offense.
Week 10 will be quite an interesting one for the Cleveland Browns as they travel down to Miami for a pivotal matchup with the Dolphins. A win will go a long way as the clock keeps ticking down until the debut of Deshaun Watson in Week 13. A loss won’t be a season-ending one, but it will no doubt hurt any potential playoff hopes.
The Dolphins are loaded offensively and the defense will have their hands full to try and stop them. If they play anywhere near the level they did in Week 8 against the Bengals, this will be a winnable game. One of the three big storylines this week is whether or not the Cleveland defense can stop the Miami offense.
Normally, Dawg Pound Daily takes a look at three-to-five players from the opposing team, but this week, the focus will be on offensive players from the Dolphins.
Here are three offensive players to watch on the Dolphins in Week 10.
3 offensive players for the Browns to watch against Dolphins in Week 10
No. 3: Jaylen Waddle, Wide Receiver
For the 2022 season, Jaylen Waddle has been sensational, but not the best wide receiver on his team. More on that later. What he has become though, is the best No. 2 option in the NFL.
Through the first nine games of the season, Waddle has compiled 47 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns. Normally, that would be good enough for WR1 on any given team up to this point of the season. That is a good problem for the Dolphins to have and something the Browns defense will need to be cautious of.
Rookie Martin Emerson will likely draw this coverage and he has been pretty, pretty, pretty good as a first-year player. He will need to continue to play well to help slow down Waddle and get him off of his routes. Emerson played a big role in the Browns 32-13 victory over the Bengals in Week 9, allowing Tee Higgins to catch two passes for eight yards when guarding him.
No. 2: Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver
For as good as Waddle has been this year Tyreek Hill has been even better. The superstar wideout was acquired in the offseason via trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hill currently leads the NFL in receptions with 76 and yards with 1,104 to go with just three touchdowns. He is on pace to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season record for receiving yards in a single season. He is an electric and explosive player whom the Browns must gameplan for accordingly. Hill is seemingly open every time the ball is hiked.
Cleveland will get some reinforcements this weekend, as Denzel Ward will seemingly return to the lineup after missing the past three games with a concussion. While he did not have a great start to the season after signing a massive extension in the summer, he will be needed against this high-octane offense on Sunday.
What Hill does when he’s not catching passes, is he frees up someone like Waddle to get more attention. The defense will surely try and take away Hill, so they must be wary of what he does for his teammates. Make no mistake though, if Hill gets past the defense, it could spell a long day for the Cleveland secondary.
Hill was the No. 1 receiver in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes but has really solidified his spot as a true No. 1 with the Dolphins.
No. 1: Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback
Coming into the season, there was plenty of chatter in regards to Tua Tagovailoa being the franchise of the Dolphins moving forward. Well, this season, despite missing more than two-and-a-half games with a concussion, he has proven to be that guy.
In seven games played this season, one of which he was injured in, Tua has thrown for 1,980 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just three interceptions, while completing 69.9 percent of his passes. He has been sensational this season and it doesn’t hurt having Hill and Waddle at his disposal.
Tua’s completion percentage ranks third in the NFL while he ranks first in yards per attempt (9.2) and passer rating (115.9). There was a lot of criticism about whether or not he could make the deep throws and this season he has shut those critics up.
The duo of Tua and head coach Mike McDaniels has been a blessing for the Dolphins and a curse for the rest of the NFL. The latter is certainly not surprised at how well his quarterback is playing. McDaniels is doing everything he can to put his star quarterback in positions to make plays and win games.
As for the Cleveland defense, Myles Garrett and the rest of the defensive line will need to be in Tua’s face early and often. That will be a bit difficult as Tagovailoa gets the ball out quickly. On Halloween night, Garrett and company were able to disrupt Joe Burrow all night long, with Garrett finishing with 1.5 sacks, He also tipped a ball at the line of scrimmage that resulted in an interception.
This will be no easy task for the defense of the Browns, but if they bring the effort they did when we last saw them play, then it could have a huge impact on whether or not Cleveland is victorious in Week 10.