Fins vs Colts

The Colts have gone with Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback the last two weeks, but it looks like his run is coming to an end.

Head coach Shane Steichen said at a Monday press conference that he expects Anthony Richardson to start against the Dolphins in Week Seven as long as he doesn’t experience a setback with his oblique injury.

Richardson suffered the injury in Week Four and he has been a limited participant in practice the last two weeks. He was inactive as the emergency quarterback for both the Week Five loss to the Jaguars and Sunday’s win over the Titans.

Richardson is 39-of-77 for 654 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions this season. He’s also run 21 times for 141 yards and a touchdown.

 

If we can beat the Colts and if the Jets get a bounce from the HC firing, were back in this thing. Lots of 3 win teams.

 

he Miami Dolphins will be back at practice Monday as they return to work following their bye, with a favorable schedule and the looming return of some key players serving as encouraging signs.

The Dolphins went into their bye with a 2-3 record, but they're now tied for the seventh and last AFC playoff spot when it comes to the loss column. And, based on the current standings, the Dolphins do not appear to have a difficult schedule the rest of the way — though they're at 2-3 after facing what has by far been the easiest schedule so far.

The combined record of the final 12 opponents — counting the New York Jets twice — is 29-39, a .426 winning percentage that averages to slightly better than a 7-10 final record.

As of Monday morning, only three of the final 12 games is against an opponent that currently has a winning record — at Houston (5-1), at Buffalo (3-2) and at Green Bay (4-2).

The Dolphins have the same number of games against three of the six teams that have only one victory — the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns. Again, it's not as though the Dolphins haven't had a soft schedule to this point because they have.

The Dolphins have faced three of those teams with only one win — New England, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans — and have faced only one team that currently has a winning record, Buffalo.

KEY PLAYERS ON THE WAY BACK?
That the Dolphins are 2-3 is the result of some sub-par performances, along obviously with the injury that sidelined quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the past three games. But all signs suggest that Tagovailoa will be back when he's eligible to come off IR following the game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, and his return obviously should make a difference for the offense.

The Dolphins also have five more players eligible to return to practice this week: WR River Cracraft and S Patrick McMorris, who are on injured reserve; OLB Bradley Chubb, G Isaiah Wynn and OLB Cameron Gooden, who are on PUP.

Of those, it did appear as though Cracraft seemed to be the most likely to return to practice this week, and the Dolphins certainly could use him to beef up a thin wide receiver corps that did welcome back Odell Beckham Jr. in the game at New England before the bye.

THE DOLPHINS AND THE BYE
Recent history also offers optimism when it comes to the game against the Colts, with the Dolphins are a four-game winning streak in games coming off a bye.

Of course, it should be noted that all four of those victories were at Hard Rock Stadium — against the L.A. Rams in 2020, the New York Jets in 2021, the Houston Texans in 2022 and the Las Vegas Raiders last season.

Overall, the Dolphins are 21-14 in their post-bye games, including victories in 1992 and 2017 when the bye was moved to Week 1 because of hurricanes.

The byes began in 1990 and the NFL experiments with each team having two byes in 1993 before dropping the idea after one year — an idea that could be revisited if the league expands the regular season to 18 games.

 

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said on Monday that quarterback Anthony Richardson is on track to start against the Dolphins this weekend as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks with his oblique injury.

Nothing has changed that outlook over the last couple of days. Steichen said at his Wednesday press conference that Richardson is set for a full practice later in the day.

Richardson was injured early in Indy’s Week Four game against the Steelers and Joe Flacco was able to pilot them to a win. Flacco has started the last two weeks and he’s been a more efficient passer than Richardson was in the first three weeks of the year, but the Colts only managed a split in games against the Jaguars and Titans.

Richardson missed most of his rookie season and this year’s injury has been a further obstacle for him to overcome as he tries to develop as an NFL starter, so the Colts will be hoping that nothing else knocks the 2023 first-rounder out of the lineup before they have a full grasp of what he can do on the field

 

Dolphins running back De’Von Achane practiced on Wednesday with a red non-contact jersey, indicating he’s in the latter stage of concussion protocol per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. Achane left the team’s Week 5 matchup with the Patriots early with a concussion. Getting Achane back would be a huge boost for a Dolphins offense that needs a spark without Tua.
Achane has yet to look like the explosive version of himself everyone saw during his rookie campaign. He has logged 56 carries for 183 yards and one touchdown on the season. Don’t let the numbers fool you, Achane has a chance to return to his rookie form once the Dolphins start clicking on offense again. His return is a big deal.

In other Dolphins injury news, both Jevon Holland (broken hand) and Jordan Poyer (shin) practiced on Wednesday in a limited capacity.

Miami also recently got an update on QB Tua Tagovailoa from Mike McDaniel. “Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, for the first time, confirms that QB Tua Tagovailoa is expected to play again in 2024,” Rapoport said on Monday. “Tagovailoa is still on Injured Reserve, eligible to resume practicing on Oct. 23.”

 

Dolphins safety Jevon Holland was listed as limited in practice on Wednesday and he’s still figuring out if he’ll be able to play through his limitations on Sunday.

Holland broke a bone in his left hand before the team’s bye week and said that he feels good, but is still working out whether he will be able to go against the Colts with a cast or club protecting the injury. Holland said it will “presumably” be difficult for him to do so and called himself “day-to-day” in terms of his availability.

“I’ve never done it before,” Holland said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I assume it’s going to be a little difficult if I have to club it. Not really sure yet. I’m going to assume it’s going to be a little hard to catch. It’s my first broken bone. It kind of feels like a bad jam.”

Jordan Poyer was limited by a shin injury in Wednesday’s practice, so the Dolphins have a couple of injury concerns to sort out at the back end of their defense this week

 

The Colts got their top two wide receivers back on the practice field on Thursday. Michael Pittman Jr. (back) and Josh Downs (toe) both returned to action after sitting out on Wednesday. Pittman was a full participant and Downs was limited as the team continued preparing to face the Dolphins.

While that was good news for the offense, the Colts were missing another wideout. Alec Pierce was added to the report with a shoulder injury and they continue to be without running back Jonathan Taylor. He missed another practice due to the ankle injury that’s kept him out the last two weeks.

Quarterback Anthony Richardson (oblique) remains on track to return after another full practice. Center Ryan Kelly (calf), defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (hamstring), running back Trey Sermon (knee), and linebacker E.J. Speed (knee) were all limited participants. Cornerback Chris Lammons (ankle) did not take part in practice.

 

The Dolphins have several injury concerns entering this weekend’s matchup with the Colts but running back De’Von Achane has been cleared from concussion protocol and is set to play in Week 7. Head coach Mike McDaniel said earlier on Friday that he was optimistic about Achane’s chances to play. Achane, who’s rushed for 183 yards on 56 carries and caught 21 passes for 186 yards, was a full participant in practice all week.

The Dolphins added receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring/personal) to the report as a non-participant on Friday. He is questionable for Sunday. Beckham played just 11 offensive snaps in his debut for Miami against New England in Week 5, receiving one target.

Offensive tackle Austin Jackson (back) and long snapper Blake Ferguson (personal) were also added to the injury report as limited on Friday and are questionable.

Safety Jevon Holland (hand) was limited all week and is doubtful.

Linebacker David Long (knee), linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (biceps), cornerback Cam Smith (hamstring), and quarterback Skylar Thompson (ribs) are questionable.

Offensive tackle Kendall Lamm (elbow), linebacker Mohamed Kamara (ankle), and safety Jordan Poyer (shin) are all off the report and are set to play.