With less than 48 hours to go until the start of the Miami Dolphins’ Week 5 showdown against the New England Patriots, both teams have released final injury reports for the contest.
What stands out at first glance is the number of players listed as questionable on Miami’s injury report compared to New England’s. Only three Dolphins — quarterback Skylar Thompson (ribs), wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (knee) and cornerback Cam Smith (hamstring) — are questionable, and safety Jordan Poyer (shin) is out.
Conversely, the Patriots have a plethora of players listed as questionable and one player listed as doubtful.
Dolphins LT Terron Armstead and CB Kendall Fuller have no injury designation. They have cleared concussion protocol.
And the Patriots have much of their roster questionable. https://t.co/xeNhKG1CTD pic.twitter.com/PjBVQ4miOA
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) October 4, 2024
Sunday’s matchup will mark a meeting of the two worst teams in the AFC East division so far in the 2024 regular season. The Dolphins and Patriots share identical records at 1-3, and both teams haven’t picked up a victory since their season openers.
However, the expectation heading into the campaign was that the Patriots wouldn’t be a very successful football team, but that wasn’t the case with the Dolphins.
New England won only four of its 17 contests in the 2023 regular season, while Miami finished with an 11-6 record. The Dolphins also boast a superior roster on paper, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Some of the better offensive players in the NFL today — such as Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa — are part of Miami’s attack when healthy.
But Tagovailoa has been sidelined for a while now, and the likes of Hill and Waddle have seen their production take a dip without him on the field leading the offense.
Tyler Huntley will get his second start of the season at the quarterback position on Sunday, and hopefully, he’ll fare better than he did in his team debut. In Miami’s loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 4, he totaled only 96 passing yards. To his credit, he did rush for 40 yards and scored one touchdown on the ground.
The Dolphins need a win to avoid dropping to 1-4 on the season.
