Two of the finest young quarterbacks in the NFL will go toe-to-toe on Sunday night as the Miami Dolphins visit SoFi Stadium for a date with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Both teams suffered losses in Week 13, with LA dropping a 27-20 decision to the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Dolphins had a five-game winning streak snapped, losing 33-17 versus the San Francisco 49ers.
Match preview
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The Chargers' playoff hopes took another hit last Sunday, suffering a third defeat in their previous four outings, as they find themselves a game behind the New York Jets for a wildcard spot in the AFC.
Taking hits might be the best way to describe this team offensively of late, as the Chargers' pass blockers have allowed 14 sacks in their last three games, and their quarterback took 14 hits against the Raiders.
On the defensive line, Brandon Staley has been missing the presence of four-time Pro Bowler Joey Bosa, who was lost to an injury early on in 2022.
Los Angeles have just 22 sacks on the season with a pressure rating of 27.7%, failing to get to the Raiders' Derek Carr last Sunday.
Like the Dolphins, this team does most of their damage offensively through the air, ranked sixth in the passing game, averaging 266.5 yards per game.
While they have put up over 300 yards of offence in their last three games, the Chargers have had a hard time keeping drives alive, going 5/16 on third-down conversions against Las Vegas.
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Last week, the Dolphins looked like they met their match as Mike McDaniel's offence scored fewer than 20 points for the first time since October.
They made some poor decisions in the passing game because their offensive line struggled to protect their quarterback, conceding three sacks to the 49ers, while allowing eight altogether in the last two games.
Miami have not played the pass well in 2022, but they have done a decent job at containing wide receivers, holding them to an 86.5 rating.
The Dolphins have not lost this year when scoring over 20 points, but they have dropped three of their four outings in which they tallied fewer than that.
Last week was the first time all year that the Finns had been outscored in every quarter, while they have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in three of their last four games.
Sunday will be their first encounter versus an AFC West team this season, a division they have not won a regular season game against since 2020.
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Team News
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Even though he took his share of big hits and was sacked five times, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert still managed to throw for 335 yards with an 88.5 rating last Sunday, finding Keenan Allen for a touchdown, while Austin Ekeler never got going out of the backfield, with 10 carries for 35 yards.
Bryce Callahan had an interception in the loss to Las Vegas, the second in as many games for this secondary, while he and Asante Samuel each had four tackles to lead the team, Gerald Everett had five catches for 80 yards, while Josh Palmer posted seven receptions, more than any Charger last Sunday.
Trey Pipkins and Sebastian Joseph-Day sat out of practice this week with knee issues, Derwin James has an injured quadricep and Will Clapp continues to deal with a shoulder injury.
Dolphins pivot Tua Tagovailoa had probably his worst outing of the season as he was sacked five times and threw a pair of interceptions against San Fran, putting up a 79.7 rating, while the NFL's top receiver, Tyreek Hill, had nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Trent Sherfield also had a TD grab, Christian Wilkins made seven tackles, Xavien Howard had an interception, while Jaylen Waddle was held in check with just one catch for nine yards.
Justin Zimmer has a sore back, Durham Smythe hurt his knee/quadricep, River Cracraft could miss this one due to a calf strain and Terron Armstead might also be on the bench because of a toe and pectoral injury.
Head To Head
Sunday will be the first meeting between these sides since 2020, when Miami came out on top 29-21 thanks to a pair of field goals from Jason Sanders and touchdown catches from Jakeem Grant and Smythe.
Miami have the edge overall with a record of 19-16 versus LA, winning a tight 19-17 ball game on the road versus the Chargers in 2019 when Cody Parkey booted four field goals and Kenny Stills caught a 29-yard pass from Jay Cutler.
The Chargers' last triumph versus Miami happened in 2019 in a game that saw Philip Rivers find Ekeler and Troymaine Pope in the end zone, with Ty Long connecting on three field goals, helping LA to a 30-10 victory.
We say: Los Angeles Chargers 24-30 Miami Dolphins
It is hard to imagine the Miami offence being contained for a second successive outing, especially against a team that does not defend the pass well, so expect Tua to get more protection while being aided by his explosive pass catchers.
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