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Chris Perkins: Things to watch for in Miami Dolphins-Washington Commanders matchup

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Chris Perkins: Things to watch for in Miami Dolphins-Washington Commanders matchup


MIAMI GARDENS — More power seems to be coming to the Miami Dolphins’ high-powered offense for Sunday’s game at the Washington Commanders.

Rookie running back De’Von Achane, the dynamic big-play threat who averages 11.8 yards per carry, seems on schedule to return from his right knee ailment.

Beyond that, there’s a chance fellow rookie running back Chris Brooks (knee) also returns. Brooks would provide an option for short-yardage situations, one of the few shortcomings for Miami’s offense this season.

But there might be a balance for the returnees in the form of absences.

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Miami will keep an eye on left tackles Terron Armstead (quadriceps) and Kendall Lamm (back) as well as right guard Robert Hunt (hamstring). 

Whatever happens offensively, the Dolphins defense, even without edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (Achilles), is getting better. Miami is seventh in the league (305.2 yards allowed per game).

This all points to a Miami victory on Sunday (1 p.m.; on Fox), but the Dolphins (8-3) must be careful to respect the Commanders (4-8).

Here are some things to watch for in the game: 

Turnover margin

Miami is minus-5 on the season, which isn’t necessarily a killer total considering Kansas City and Detroit are right there with them. The problem is after every loss the Dolphins say they must stop beating themselves and it hasn’t happened yet. In fact, the turnover margin has increased by one recently. And this turnover issue has been going on all season, against all opponents. Curiously, Miami is minus-1 in turnover margin in its three losses and minus-4 in its eight victories.

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Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has 10 interceptions, which is tied for third in the league. That’s a major problem.

The good thing is the defense has produced six turnovers in the past three games.

Defensive front without Jaelan Phillips

Linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel (4.0 sacks) and Emmanuel Ogbah (4.0 sacks, one interception) will get the first shot at replacing Phillips, who is out for the season with an Achilles injury. For further depth, Miami signed Jason Pierre-Paul, the Deerfield Beach native. But it’ll take a focused effort by the entire front seven to replace Phillips’ 6.5 sacks and overall relentless effort. Remember, Phillips wasn’t just instrumental in helping the league’s No. 3 unit in sacks (38), he was also instrumental in helping the league’s No. 6 unit against the run. 

Most likely Miami’s defensive front has what it needs against the Commanders, but it’s also likely it’ll need to sharpen its game before that three-game season-ending gauntlet of Dallas, Baltimore and Buffalo.

Offensive line health

Armstead and Lamm are the biggest questions at this point. That could mean Kion Smith gets the start. Hunt, who has battled a hamstring injury the past two weeks, seems set to return to the starting lineup. If not, perhaps either Liam Eichenberg or Lester Cotton gets the start. The rest of the offensive line is stable among center Connor Williams, right tackle Austin Jackson and either Eichenberg or Cotton at left guard. Tagovailoa has only been sacked 17 times and Miami is No. 2 in rushing (145.2 yards per game) so the offensive line is getting the job done. Look for that trend to continue this week.

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Score more points

Miami leads the league in scoring at 30.8 points per game but the Dolphins have only met that total twice in the past five games. On top of that, Miami averages just 24.2 points per game in its six road games. The Dolphins scored 34 points at the New York Jets last week, but the offense didn’t do it alone (the defense added a touchdown on safety Jevon Holland’s interception return).

Prior to the Jets game the Dolphins averaged 18.8 points per game in their four previous road games (New England, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Kansas City). Granted, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Kansas City are tough opponents, and the Dolphins scored 36 points at the Los Angeles Chargers in the opener. But this is a high-quality Miami offense. It should be a threat to score three or more touchdowns every game.

It’s not often you say these Dolphins need to score more points but it’d be nice to see the offense clicking consistently on the road regardless of the opponent.

Keep pounding the rock

The Dolphins are 16th in rushing attempts, a big improvement over last season when they finished 31st. Miami should get Achane back this Sunday, which should help the run game tremendously, and it could get Brooks back, too. A balanced offense makes the Dolphins tougher to defend and makes life easier for Tagovailoa and coach Mike McDaniel, the offensive play-caller. The fact that running back Raheem Mostert is second in the league in rushing (785 yards) and leads the league in rushing touchdowns (13) should provide enough reason for the Dolphins to continue to run the ball. But also consider they’ll need that part of their game in the playoffs.



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Miami, FL

Messi plays through a scare, Inter Miami rallies past Montreal 3-2 for fifth straight win

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Messi plays through a scare, Inter Miami rallies past Montreal 3-2 for fifth straight win


MONTREAL, QUE – Lionel Messi played the entire game despite a first-half injury scare, Benjamin Cremaschi broke a tie in the 59th minute and Inter Miami overcame an early two-goal deficit to beat Montreal 3-2 on Saturday night for its fifth consecutive Major League Soccer victory.

Luis Suarez got his 11th goal of the season for Inter Miami, and Matías Rojas scored off a free kick. Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Bryce Duke scored for Montreal (3-5-3).

Inter Miami (8-2-3) extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches (5-0-2) despite Messi being held without a goal or an assist for the first time in his nine MLS appearances this season. Inter Miami is 7-0-2 in those nine games; one of its losses came against Montreal in March, a game where Messi didn’t play.

Playing in Canada for the first time, Messi briefly left late in the first half after some sort of issue with his left knee after being fouled by defender George Campbell. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player went down immediately, holding his knee and writhing in pain.

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Inter Miami’s medical staff went onto the field to treat Messi, who got up after about two minutes and walked to the Miami sideline. He was not subbed out, which allowed him a chance to return moments later.

And for whatever reason, the match changed in that moment.

Inter Miami was down 2-0 when Messi got hurt; it was 2-1 when he returned and tied moments after he got back onto the field. Rojas scored off a free kick — one that Messi would have ordinarily taken — to get Inter Miami on the board, and Suarez tapped in a goal off a corner kick late in first-half stoppage time.

Suarez became the third player in MLS history to score 11 goals in his first 800 minutes of a season, joining Mamadou Diallo (11 in 2000) and Ola Kamara (11 in 2021).

The go-ahead goal came when Rojas sent a ball into open space and Cremaschi ran it down — then made a second effort to nudge the ball just clear of two defenders and into the net for a 3-2 lead. Messi had two chances in the final minutes to extend the lead, both narrowly missing.

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Hundreds of fans greeted Inter Miami when the team arrived at its hotel Friday night and Montreal, in part because of Messi joining Major League Soccer last summer, sold out its 15,000 season tickets for the first time since the club joined MLS in 2012. Messi has scored in 31 countries.

An announced sellout crowd of 19,619 spectators — including one dressed in a Messi tracksuit and wearing a goat mask in a nod to Messi ass the Greatest of All Time — attended the match.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Detectives investigate shooting in Miami’s Brickell

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Detectives investigate shooting in Miami’s Brickell


MIAMI – Detectives were investigating an early Saturday morning shooting in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.

According to the Miami Police Department, two shooters fired their weapons in the area of Brickell Bay Drive and Southeast 11 Street.

The area is home to the Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami and the Panorama, and Yacht Club residential towers. Police officers questioned witnesses.

Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

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Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Mercedes Cevallo and Photojournalist Alejandro Rodriguez contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.



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Miami, FL

Former Dolphins WR Wilson Retires; His Five Biggest Plays for Miami

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Former Dolphins WR Wilson Retires; His Five Biggest Plays for Miami


The Miami Dolphins never have had the kind of explosiveness on offense that they have right now, but they have had their share of dynamic playmakers in recent years, and Albert Wilson definitely was one of those guys.

The speedy wide receiver, who spent three seasons with the Dolphins (2018-19, 2021), announced his retirement from the NFL via Instagram on Friday. His last season was that final one with the Dolphins, after which he signed with the Minnesota. Vikings and later had stints on the practice squad for the Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.

Wilson, whose NFl career began with four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, caught 94 passes for 955 yards and five touchdowns in 34 games for Miami with 12 starts.

Here’s a countdown of Wilson’s five most memorable plays with the Dolphins:

5. 43-YARD TD RECEPTION FROM OSWEILER, VS. CHICAGO, 2018

The most productive game of Wilson’s career came against the Bears at Hard Rock Stadium when he had 155 receiving yards, and it included this touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

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4. 64-YARD RECEPTION FROM TAGOVAILOA, VS. BALTIMORE, 2021

This was the key play in a long touchdown drive spanning the third and fourth quarters that helped the Dolphins defeat the Ravens in a Thursday night game.

3. 74-YARD TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION FROM TANNEHILL, VS. OAKLAND, 2018

This was more like a run because it came on a shovel pass and Wilson’s long touchdown proved the winning margin in a 28-20 victory against the Raiders. What made this play extra special was Wilson getting a high-five from teammate Jakeem Grant at the Oakland 5-yard line after they both sprinted away from the defense.

2. 52-YARD TD PASS TO JAKEEM GRANT, VS. OAKLAND, 2018

Before his long touchdown, Wilson hooked up with Grant again this time throwing him a touchdown pass after taking a pitch from Ryan Tannehill to give Miami a 20-7 lead.

1. 75-YARD TD RECEPTION FROM OSWEILER, VS. CHICAGO

This was the best example of Wilson’s explosiveness as he took a short pass from Brock Osweiler over the middle barely past the line of scrimmage and then used his speed and quickness to avoid Bears defenders and outrace them to the end zone. That touchdown tied the score with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter and helped the Dolphins to a 31-28 overtime victory.





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