The Miami Dolphins are looking to take on the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium, as Mike McDaniel’s team is looking to win their fifth game in a row and eighth of the year.
Miami is coming off of a much-needed bye week with a number of players recovering from various injuries. The last time we saw them, the Dolphins had their most complete victory of the season, as they handled the Cleveland Browns on the road.
Before Miami’s Week 12 matchup against the Texans, we caught up with managing editor Mark Lane of Texans Wire to get some inside information on the Dolphins’ opponent.
Here are five questions with Texans Wire:
Lovie Smith's first year as head coach isn't exactly going great. What's the biggest reason for the struggles?
ML — Maybe something that doesn’t have anything to do with his speciality: quarterback. More on that later. Relative to Smith’s specialty, it has been the linebacker play. The Texans’ scheme doesn’t have a dominant linebacker the way Smith ran his schemes in Chicago and even Tampa Bay from 2014-15. There have been missed tackles, and guys aren’t maintaining gap integrity, which has resulted in big runs against the defense. Aside from the tie with the Indianapolis Colts at the beginning of the year, the optimism of having an East Texas guy on the sidelines at NRG Stadium has faded.
Davis Mills appeared to be trending in the right direction last year. Has he fallen off the trajectory?
ML — Indeed. There is a report that Kyle Allen will replace Davis Mills as the starter against the Dolphins. Mills’ play has been extremely safe, as if he is trying to avoid any blame for why the Texans should lose. However, the nature of the NFL is built entirely around the quarterback. As such, when you don’t have a quarterback that is willing to make those risky throws and constantly live to play another series, you find yourself losing close ballgames. During the latter half of the 2010s, Houston had a catalyst under center — good or bad — and now they have more of a non-playable character.
Can we get a full explanation of the saga of Brandin Cooks this year?
ML — Cooks was slated to be a free agent after this season. The Texans signed the former New Orleans Saints 2014 first-round pick to a two-year extension through the 2024 season. All of that is great if the Texans are a team on the cusp of completing the rebuild. However, it is apparent the rebuild is maybe another season away. Cooks wanted out, and the Texans explored options, but his contract extension gummed up the works. Houston couldn’t find an offer that helped alleviated their salary cap obligations. As a result, Cooks was bandied about but never got to leave for a contender. For a player who has either played with good to great quarterbacks (Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Jared Goff) or been on contending teams (’17 Patriots, ’18 Rams) and still showed up during double-digit losing seasons with 1,000-yard receiving years (2020-21), playing for this Texans squad has to be a burden.
If you could add one former Texan to this roster to help win this game who would you pick and why?
ML — I think we know who and I think we know why. That is precisely what general manager Nick Caserio is going to do with either one of the Texans’ first-round picks in the 2023 draft. The decision will be either Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud or Alabama’s Bryce Young. Stroud likes to use his arm and is starting to incorporate more of his feet, while Young has been able to carry the entire Crimson Tide offense himself.
How about a prediction?
ML — Unless RB Dameon Pierce can have a 250-yard day with three touchdowns, the Texans have no chance matching the Dolphins stride for stride. Mike McDaniel has masterfully unlocked QB Tua Tagovailoa and made Miami a quick-strike offense reminiscent of Dan Marino’s early days. Even if the Dolphins have a sloppy afternoon, a few big drives should be enough to keep the Texans an arm’s length away. I don’t think Kyle Allen comes to the rescue. Dolphins 30, Texans 12
