MIAMI GARDENS — There’s a very real chance that Sunday’s game between the Dolphins and Patriots could be a trap game. It has all the elements for the Dolphins.
A so-called trap game is when you look past your current opponent (New England), usually a bad team, and look ahead to the next opponent (Green Bay on Thanksgiving), usually a good team.
You fall into the trap of overlooking your current opponent and lose.
The Dolphins say there’s no chance of that happening.
The Dolphins (4-6), who likely need to win five of their remaining seven games to earn a wild-card playoff berth, maintain their sole focus is on the Patriots (3-8).
The Dolphins have won back-to-back games and they’re riding high, buoyed by a mixture of confidence and strong performances.
“The mindset is obviously we’re in playoff football right now,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. “We’ve got to continue to play ball. Can’t lose a game, and we obviously know that. Our backs are against the wall, so that’s the mindset. Guys are preparing like it at practice. The preparation has been great. Guys have been flying across the field on defense so it’s been a great week of preparation so far.”
Coach Mike McDaniel feigned surprise when asked about playing Green Bay (7-3) five days after playing New England.
“You’re telling me we have two games in five days?” he said Friday. “That will come to my awareness very quickly after the only thing that exists, which is today’s practice, and then there’s another day of preparation, and then the Patriots game.”
The Dolphins are feeling better than they’ve felt in about a year, because the 1-2 punch of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s return and their new offense offers reason to believe this longshot playoff run can become a reality.
But again, for this thing to work the Dolphins must focus on the present, not the future.
They swear that’s the case.
“We didn’t accomplish anything,” tight end Jonnu Smith said. “It’s nothing that we won two games back-to-back. It’s very hard to win in this league, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
The significance of last week’s victory against the Raiders is multi-faceted.
Aside from it being a test of focus and a recognition of urgency, this is a test of the Dolphins’ revamped offense.
Tagovailoa, who has played four games since his return from a concussion, remains a focal point of the offense.
But his co-stars are now running back De’Von Achane and Smith instead of wide receivers Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Defenses have used the two-high safety scheme and jamming/pressing at the line of scrimmage to take away the big-play threat from Hill and Waddle.
The Raiders are the most recent example.
“Their whole sideline was telling me the whole game, like saying, ‘Oh, jam him up, jam him up, he can’t get off a jam,’ ” Hill said.
They’re right.
Consequently, the Dolphins’ offense is now based on the ground game and a short- and medium-range passing game.
This seems to be the smartest approach to the situation.
However, it’s not yet clear whether this approach will succeed.
The Dolphins are 2-2 since Tagovailoa’s return, despite averaging 27.8 points per game.
The run game has produced confusing results. The Dolphins are 2-0 when they’ve rushed for fewer than 100 yards in their past four games, and 0-2 when they’ve rushed for more than 100 yards.
Beyond that, you wonder whether Achane and left tackle Terron Armstead can endure this more physical style of offense for the remaining seven consecutive weeks.
Both have injury histories, and both have already had a concussion this season.
There’s also a question about the ability of the Dolphins’ revamped offense to make a fourth quarter comeback if they trail by, say, 10 points.
The absence of the big play and quick-strike ability has meant the Dolphins require long, grinding 8-, 10- or 14-play drives to score.
In the past four games the Dolphins have 21 scoring drives, 14 of which (.667) have been nine or more plays.
Among those 14 scoring drives that have been nine or more plays, seven have resulted in field goals instead of touchdowns.
Defensively, the Dolphins are allowing 23 points per game during Tagovailoa’s return. That’s not far off their season average of 22.1 ppg, which is tied for 14th in the league.
One player who could help the Dolphins win, and get their ground game going is Pro Bowl fullback Alec Ingold, who has missed the past two games with a left calf injury.
Ingold was reared in Green Bay. The Packers game on Thanksgiving will be a homecoming.
Someone tried to get ahead of things this week and asked Ingold about being healthy enough to go back home to face the Packers.
Ingold politely directed the focus back to Sunday. He didn’t fall into the trap.
“Next week will be next week,” he said, “but for this week, it’s the Patriots, and can I get ready for Sunday?”