After a disastrous start to the season a year ago, meaningful December football will return to Miami this weekend as the Dolphins take on the AFC East leading New England Patriots. The 8-3 Patriots have yet to feel any pressure from their division rivals as they can already clinch a playoff spot with a win on Sunday while the 5-6 Dolphins will look to build off their comeback victory over Seattle and continue their climb back into the AFC playoff picture. 

Following a shaky start to the season, New England has strung together one dominating performance after another on route to a five game winning streak which they will take into Sun Life Stadium. In order for the Dolphins to overcome this offensive powerhouse, there are several things that must go right for them, starting with play similar to that of the fourth quarter against the Seahawks. 

The element of this year's version of the Patriots that make them unique to those in years past is a rejuvinated run game. Stevan Ridley has taken the starting running back role and never looked back, rushing for 939 yards and 8 touchdowns. The recent emergence of Shane Vereen out of the backfield has given the Patriots the luxury of having a top 10 running back combination in the entire league and adding a second dimension to go along with a potent passing game. Luckily for the Dolphins, what they do best is stopping the run and it was evident last week when they held Marshawn Lynch to only 46 yards on 19 carriers in a career year thus far. Look for the Dolphins to do the same against Ridley and Vereen, ultimately taking one half of their attack out of the equation. If Miami was to soley focus on the passing game, which will be a monumental challenge to shut down, and underestimate the run, they will be in store for a rather lenghty afternoon.

With the Patriots threat on the ground eliminated, the Dolphins must look to minimize Tom Brady's success through the air. Miami's mediocre secondary can't be relied on with Brady at the helm and a variety of weapons at his diposal so the Dolphins front seven must ensure that he does not find a rhythm by continually putting pressure on him. The only way to stop a quarterback as consistent as Brady has been over the past decade is to get him on the turf as often as possible and limit the time he has to operate in the pocket. The performance of the secondary will be directly linked to the pass rush, it is up to the front seven to determine how this game will be played; Brady will either struggle against the rush or shred the Dolphins defense.

The Patriots are a tall order for any team so it doesn't help your chances of winning by providing New England with additional opportunities. Tannehill and the Dolphins did a solid job of protecting the football against Seattle and as the game progressed they were able to move down the field and capitalize with touchdowns in the red zone. The Miami offense will have to turn in the same, if not a better performance to keep up with New England and keep Brady on the sidelines. Turnovers have plagued Miami this season and their 27th ranked turnover margin has surely cost them a few victories. Although it may be a lot to ask from a rookie with minimal passing options, Tannehill must make the right decisions and avoid foring throws to keep the 'Phins in a position to win.

In order for the Dolphins to play the game at their own tempo and control the time of possesion, they will need to execute at a high level on offense and have success running the ball. Against a stingy Seahawks defense, Reggie Bush turned in his best performance of the season since week 3, rushing for 87 yards including a 22 yard touchdown. That trend must continue if the Dolphins are to open up the field for Tannehill to take some shots and make plays. 

While the odds are stacked up in the Patriots favour, the Dolphins are in prime position to pull off a stunning upset however it will take near perfect football in all three phases of the game to do so. The parity in the NFL has been evident in the first twelve weeks of play and the phrase "Any Given Sunday" has proven to be true on many occasions. There's no reason to believe that it won't carry over for at least another week. 

It’s a victory Monday in Miami as the Dolphins have ended their 3 game skid and have something to be proud about again on a Monday morning. This week took a lot of strong individual strong performances to help the Phins upset the hot Seattle Seahawks.

1. Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas

• Oh where oh where did the running game go?  Against a solid front 4 the Dolphins running game was finally able to bounce back. Reggie looked to have gained a step back into his game and Daniel Thomas ran with confidence and power. The two backs complimented each other this Sunday as the Dolphins totaled 189 yards on the ground. Reggie also looked like his old self, providing another highlight 30 yard touchdown run.
• The running game also helped set up the play action pass while taking pressure off rookie Ryan Tannehill who clearly was more comfortable with the support of the run game. Establishing the run is very important to this team for many reasons.

Hopefully this week’s performance on the ground will be one of more to come.

2. Charles Clay

• Charles Clay career in Miami has not been anything to write home about, aside from the odd breakdown in coverage which led to a touchdown Clay hasn’t really been able to be productive in this offense. Finally we saw a little of what Clay can do to help this offense on Sunday. Clay hauled in 6 grabs for 84 yards and a touchdown.
• The Dolphins clearly need a 3^rd option after Bess and Hartline and it seems Mike Sherman is trying to work Charles Clay into that role. Clay can be a huge X-factor in the Dolphins offense if utilized correctly.

• We will see if this is a fluke performance or if Clay is ready to break out of his shell. Philbin on Clay:  "He had some opportunities that he took advantage of. We thought he blocked well.      Not sure it was any kind of revelation."

3. Davone Bess

• With Brian Hartline draped by Richard Sherman, Seattle’s elite corner, Bess had to step up and find ways to get up. Bess did exactly that on route to a career performance.  Bess had 7 catches for 129 yards and was especially huge in the 4^th quarter and on the Dolphins game winning drive. The Tannehill-Bess connection looked as good as it’s been all season this Sunday.

            Bess and Hartline are now both on pace to have 1’000 yard seasons. Who would have thought ! 

After 3 straight games of disappointment and frustration the Miami Dolphins which had their fan base encouraged and excited finally came back to form. The Dolphins played an exciting game which ended with Ryan Tannehill leading his team down the field for his 1st career game winning 4th quarter comeback.

 The Dolphins rebounded this week rediscovering  their identity running the football and stopping the run. While we saw shades of the same inept offense and inability to take down the QB the good overcame the bad this week as the Dolphins now sit at 5-6 back in the playoff hunt.

Ryan Tannehill was poised and confident down the stretch in the 4th quarter finding Davone Bess on a couple of big plays that led to a game winning field goal. Tannehill 3-3 for 51 yards on the game winning drive.

Tannehill's 4th quarter today: 7/9, 156 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT's...17 points scored....QB rating of 155.79....Yeah, I guess I'll take that.

The Dolphins run game is what really got the offense going again as they totalled 189 yards on the ground. Both Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas were productive as it was very nice to see both players get their swagger back and run with more confidence. Bush's bounce back game was a long time coming as he hasn't been playing with the same bounce as he did earlier in the season.

The road to 500% doesn't get any easier next week as they get no time to enjoy this win with New England on tap next however this week's win is something to build off of.

The offensive play calling will need to top notch as the Dolphins offense in the first half simply won't cut it.

This teams still remains a bit of a mystery however today was certainly a step in the right direction beating a solid Seattle team at home.

This win also helped the Dolphins improve to 1-0 when the sprinklers go off. 

Two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions will meet in South Beach on Sunday as the 4-6 Miami Dolphins play host to the 6-4 Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is surging as of late and all elements of the team are playing high quality football while the Dolphins enter this matchup following three straight losses and their playoff hopes quickly slipping away.

The tilt features two rookie quarterbacks, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson, both of which were not expected to win their respective teams starting jobs this season. Both have exceeded their draft day expectations as they have showed the skill and poise needed to find success at the NFL level. Even more impressive is the fact that Tannehill had the Dolphins in a midst of a serious playoff run seven games into the season and Wilson's Seahawks are currently the 6th seed in the NFC.

For Miami to get a crucial victory and get their season back on track, the Dolphins must repair the offense that has been atrocious for the past three games, scoring a combined 37 points over that span. Since the loss to the Colts, Ryan Tannehill has struggled against two of the worst defenses in the league. In order to rebound this week, Tannehill must regain confidence in himself as well as his wide recievers alhtough they have yet to make life easy for the rookie. Throughout the Dolphins three game win streak that vaulted them to 4-3, Tannehill took control of the offense and kept the team in a position to win despite being outplayed on some occasions. In order for Miami to rebound, Tannehill must regain his early season form. Easier said than done.

The Seahawks defense is near the top in the league in several categories as they have surrendered a mere 16.1 points per game (2nd in the league), 296.8 yards per game (3rd) and 196.2 passing yards per game (3rd). It won't be an easy task for Tannehill to thrive against this stout defense on his own, the run game must take some of the pressure off him. The re-emergence of the run game has yet to happen for the Dolphins as Reggie Bush does not look like the same back from the end of last season to the beginning of this year and Daniel Thomas is hit or miss on a week to week basis. If Seattle has one weakness on defense its their ability to stop the run as they are allowing over 100 yards on the ground per game. Bush must run the ball up the gut as opposed to running east to west as he has a habit of doing. The Dolphins have the NFL's second rated centre in Mike Pouncey which should be enough to overmatch the Seahawks up front. Without the run game though, the Dolphins will be playing right into the hands of their opponents.

Although it has gone relatively unnoticed, the Dolphins defense played well on Thursday Night Football against the Bills. The bend dont break defense was evident following an embarassing loss the week before and held Buffalo to only 19 points, none in the second half and not a single offensive touchdown. That is usually a formula for victory in the NFL. Usually. If the defense turns in another exceptional performance, the Dolphins won't need anything spectacular out of their offense assuming they protect the ball and capitalize on their chances. Putting pressure on the Seahawks will be a point of emphasis in stopping Marshawn Lynch and forcing Wilson into making poor decisions. Lynch is having the best year of his career so far meaning the Dolphins 9th ranked run defense will need to ensure Lynch does not get into open space.

The Seahawks passing game is ranked last in the NFL averaging 255 yards per game. Miami must take away the run and make Seattle one dimensional. While Wilson doesn't post jaw-dropping numbers, he rarely makes mistakes either seeing as he has only thrown two interceptions in the past five weeks. Wilson's biggest asset against Miami could potentially be his speed considering that the Dolphins struggle versus mobile quarterbacks. Its crucial that the 'Phins linebackers keep him contained and force him into making throws to an average at best recieving corps. 

Seattle normally is not a good road team and the fact that they are a west coast team travelling to the east coast for a 1pm game will factor in as an advantage for Miami. The Dolphins season is on the line when they take the field Sunday and in order for them to turn their season around, it must start with their offense.