Eagles-Dolphins player matchups to watch in Week 7

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Eagles-Dolphins player matchups to watch in Week 7

Here are some key matchups to watch as the Eagles host the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.

By Dave Zangaro • Published October 20, 2023

 

The Eagles (5-1) will be in kelly green jerseys as they host the high-flying Dolphins (5-1) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday Night Football.

Let’s get to the matchups:

Dolphins’ weapons vs. Eagles’ banged-up secondary

The Eagles have been forced to play a bunch of different defensive backs through six weeks and will not be at full strength on Sunday night. That’s especially scary with the Dolphins coming to town.

Through six weeks, the Dolphins have the No. 1 offense in the NFL in terms of points, yards, passing yards and rushing yards. The Dolphins are averaging 498.7 yards per game and the Eagles are next on that list with 395.0 yards per game. The difference between the Dolphins and Eagles is 103.7 yards per game or the difference between the Eagles at No. 2 and the Buccaneers at No. 25. The Dolphins have the second most yards in NFL history through six games behind just the 2000 St. Louis Rams.

So this isn’t just a good offense. It’s an all-time offense. And while the Dolphins haven’t exactly played a buzzsaw schedule so far, no one has really been able to stop them yet, save the Bills in Week 4.

The first thing that stands out about this offense? Speed. They have it all over the field with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, Braxton Berrios and more. At least the Eagles will avoid seeing explosive rookie De’Von Achane, who is on IR. This speed is on the forefront of the minds of Eagles coaches this week.

"We are going to have a long discussion about that today as a staff,” Eagles DC Sean Desai said. "I wouldn't say it's a mismatch but one thing that we always want to pride ourselves on defense is playing physical.

"And in my experience, even going back to my days at Temple and coaching special teams, speed can hurt you, but physicality can hurt speed.”

The Dolphins offense is all about timing and one way to throw that timing off is to bump within 5 yards. Sometimes, though, that’s easier said than done.

Tua Tagovailoa is completing over 71% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season. He’s been great. But the real star of the show is Hill, who already has 42 catches for 814 yards and 6 touchdowns. Think about how great A.J. Brown has been this season. And then think about the fact that Hill has the same number of catches but with 142 more yards and 4 more touchdowns.

It’ll be a good week for the Eagles to get Darius Slay (knee) back after missing the Jets game. Chasing Hill around the field will be a tremendous test. And if the Eagles aren’t able to find some stability in the secondary, the Dolphins’ use of motion could really hurt them.

Raheem Mostert vs. Eagles’ linebackers

Like we mentioned, the Dolphins will be without Achane in this game but the former Eagle Mostert is off to a great start too. He already has 429 yards on the ground with 9 rushing touchdowns and 24 catches for 296 yards and 2 more scores. Mostert is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and can pick up chunks on the ground in a hurry. He already has 13 carries for 10+ yards this season. The only running back with more this season is Christian McCaffrey, who has 15.

Mostert is coming off a great performance against the Panthers, which earned him the title of AFC Offensive Player of the Week. He had 115 rushing yards, 17 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in the 42-21 win.

The Eagles implemented a linebacker rotation last week as Nakobe Dean returned from IR with a foot injury. So it was Dean, Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham rotating throughout the game. Desai made it seem like there’s a possibility that type of rotation will continue this season. The Eagles obviously have to see the benefit in doing it because rotating at linebacker does put some extra stress on communication in the back seven.

It’ll be up to the Eagles’ defensive line to stuff the run at the line of scrimmage but then the linebackers will need to clean up. And it’s an especially tough matchup for them in coverage against Mostert. Running backs against the Eagles this season have caught 30 passes for 195 yards and 0 touchdowns, which puts them near the middle of the pack league-wide. Twelve teams have given up more receiving yards to backs in 2023.

Dolphins’ banged-up OL vs. Eagles’ stocked DL

The one big hope the Eagles have to stopping this high powered Dolphins offense is to get after Tua early and often, which isn’t easy because he certainly gets the ball out quickly. Tagovailoa leads all NFL starters in average time to throw at just 2.32 seconds. He’s running the offense efficiently, which means it’s out. It can sometimes mean there are opportunities to get takeaways too, so the Eagles have to capitalize on them.

But the Eagles certainly have the type of defensive line that can take over a game. It’s going to need to do that on Sunday if the Eagles want to keep points off the board.

After missing the Jets game, the Eagles should have fantastic rookie DT Jalen Carter back on the field for this one. While the Eagles are really banged up in their secondary, that defensive line rotation is healthy and dangerous with Carter, Fletcher Cox, Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham and more.

And that rotation will be facing a Dolphins’ offensive line that isn’t at full strength. After already losing Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armsetead to IR, some other injuries have popped up recently to guard Robert Hunt and center Connor Williams.

Sua Opeta vs. Christian Wilkins

The gauntlet continues for new starting right guard Sua Opeta, who is filling in for the normal starter Cam Jurgens, who will miss at least two more games on IR. Opeta has already seen Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Aaron Donald and Quinnen Williams this season. Add another really good player to the mix.

Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins already has 3 1/2 sacks in 6 games this season with 9 quarterback hits. His career highs are 4 1/2 and 13 so he’s well on his way to a career season in the middle of the Dolphins’ defensive line. For the most part, he lines up on the defensive left, setting up plenty of battles with the right guard.

We’ll see if Lane Johnson (ankle) is able to play this week. If he can’t, then that’s obviously a concern after watching how much Jack Driscoll struggled in relief against the Jets. Jaelan Phillips was on a bit of a pitch count returning from injury in Week 6 but if he’s healthy, he could be a handful for Driscoll rushing from the left side of the defensive line. The former first-round pick had 15 1/2 sacks in his first two NFL seasons.

A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith vs. Non-Xavien Howard corners

Even though he began practicing this week, the Dolphins will not have Jalen Ramsey back for this game. And Howard is also on the injury report with a groin injury. So this is a banged up secondary and the Eagles have a chance to get after them.

Of course, this is where we mention that DeVonta Smith is also dealing with a hamstring injury. But Brown has been fantastic. He is averaging 112.0 yards per game this season and has gone over 125 in four straight weeks. No reason to think that will stop this week. And in a game that might end up being a shootout, the Eagles’ offense is going to need to put up points.

D’Andre Swift vs. Dolphins’ run defense

When you think about a shootout, you probably don’t think much of the running game. But Swift has proven to be such a key weapon for the Eagles on the ground and more recently through the air. Sometimes, teams get down to the Dolphins and have to start airing it out but there’s some validity to the idea of the Eagles’ stealing possessions from the Dolphins this week. Tyreek Hill can’t score from the bench. That’s not to say the Eagles should be gun-shy or put out some plodding offense but sometimes they’re at their best with a methodical drive or two. Swift has shown and ability to move the chains.

The Dolphins this season have the No. 20 run defense in the NFL and have given up 4.1 yards per carry, which ranks 18th. The best running back the Dolphins have faced this season is Austin Ekeler, who had 117 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards against them in a close Week 1 battle. Swift has dual threat ability too.

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