Five And One: Raiders Vs. Dolphins, 2018 NFL Season Week 3 Game Preview

Jeff Spiegel
5 Min Read
Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Before the 2018 NFL season began, a Week 3 matchup against the Miami Dolphins that led into a Week 4 home game against the Cleveland Browns felt like it might provide a bit of a respite. Now that we’re here, however, the Dolphins are sitting at 2-0 and even next week’s visit from the Browns looks less appealing with their Thursday Night win over the New York Jets.

Before looking ahead to the Cleveland Baker Mayfields, however, let’s take a look at what to watch for on Sunday morning:

Are you awake?

With a 10:00 AM west coast start time, this one will be tough for the Oakland Raiders. While the Dolphins have yet to leave the east coast, the Raiders will be traveling across the country for more heat and an early start. Last season, west coast teams who traveled cross-country for these early games were just 5-10 and from 2009-2015, the Raiders lost fifteen straight in that time slot. With two losses already under their belt, the Raiders are going to need to rise and shine early if they want to get their season back on track.

Can you stay awake?

While the early morning start is one thing to watch, the second will be whether the Raiders can stay engaged for the full 60 minutes. Last week against the Denver Broncos — in altitude and extreme heat, to be fair — the Raiders defense fell apart in the second half, getting exactly zero stops in the final 30 minutes. This all was capped off by the game-winning drive from the Broncos in which the defense seemed to be moving in slow motion.

As it stands, Sunday’s forecast is calling for 89-degree weather and 70 percent humidity, so while they won’t be at altitude, the conditions won’t be a whole lot friendlier.

Another test for the offense

When you think of the Los Angeles Rams and Broncos, you think of defense, but the Dolphins? Well, through two games, the Dolphins have allowed just 16 points per game — good for fourth-best in the league so far. To be fair, they’ve done it against the Jets and the Tennessee Titans (in a seven-hour marathon thanks to weather), but the story remains that this should offer Derek Carr and company a challenge.

Last week, the Raiders offense broke out with Carr and Amari Cooper finally getting on the same page and if the Raiders want to get to 1-2, they’ll need more of that this Sunday.

Tannehill vs. Raider DBs

After missing the entire 2017 season, Ryan Tannehill has looked good so far this season — completing 72.5 percent of his passes while throwing for four touchdowns. On the flip side, he has thrown two interceptions and fumbled the ball twice.

Last week, Rashaan Melvin made the first big play of the season for the Raiders defense, picking off a Case Keenum pass in the red zone. Safe to say the Raiders will need more of that from Melvin, Gareon Conley and the rest of the defense.

Jordy? Hello?

Jordy Nelson was expected to replace Michael Crabtree in the Raiders offense and so far that simply hasn’t been the case. In two games, Nelson has just five catches for 53 yards and no touchdowns, while Crabtree has eight catches for 94 yards and one touchdown. Last week, the focus was on getting Cooper involved and I’d expect a similar game plan for Nelson in the near future.

Prediction: 28-20, Raiders

Last week, I predicted a one-point game, but I just had the wrong team winning. This week, I think the Raiders come out strong again and are able to hold on against an overrated Dolphins team. A win in Miami might not look like much, but I think it’s exactly what head coach Jon Gruden needs to begin the process of getting this train back on the tracks.

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Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a small newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Raiders and Dodgers since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNewswire.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Raider This one is an easy one for me: Charles Woodson. When the Raiders drafted him, there was nothing to dislike about the guy — he was exciting and he was freaking good. Unfortunately, of course, he left after eight seasons — but when he returned in 2013 it was one of the better Raider moments of my lifetime. At that point, I didn't care how washed he was (and he wasn't!) — I just liked having him back in the silver and black. Obviously Tim Brown is another guy that was easy to love, but Woodson is the all-timer for me. As far as current, I'm still a believer in Derek Carr and think he's going to figure this all out. Favorite Raider Moment I think I'll go with the two weeks leading up to the 2001 Super Bowl. As a kid, I remember getting the newspaper every morning to read what they were talking about, clipping out the articles to keep for later. It was obviously far more exciting than the Super Bowl itself, but I'll never forget those moments of hope leading up to the Super Bowl. I referenced it above, but second to that was probably the return of Charles Woodson in 2013 — I just loved the guy, and never dreamed he'd actually come back.
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