Predicting the Final Score of the 49ers-Dolphins Game
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This game feels like a toss up.
The 49ers are four-point favorites over the Dolphins, and homefield advantage accounts for three of those points, which means these teams are fairly evenly matched. Plus it's supposed to rain in Santa Clara on Sunday, which could make the game a muddy mess.
The Dolphins pose the biggest challenge the 49ers have faced since they lost by three touchdowns to the Kansas City Chiefs. And while Miami has its flaws like every team does, it also has a head coach in Mike McDaniel who currently seems more creative than his former mentor, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. In addition, the Dolphins have a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa who seems better than 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Tagovailoa is the NFL's top-ranked passer, plus he's 8-0 this season when he starts and finishes games. Meanwhile, Jimmy Garoppolo has played well the past month, but he's still Jimmy Garoppolo.
To make matters even tougher, the 49ers won't have Elijah Mitchell, and they might not have Deebo Samuel, either -- he has a deep thigh bruise and he hardly practiced this week.
But the Dolphins have injury issues, too. They won't have either of their starting offensive tackles, which means the 49ers defensive line should dominate. Expect Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Charles Omenihu and Samson Ebukam to create constant pressure, which won't allow Tagovailoa to hold the ball long enough to throw it downfield to the Dolphins ultrafast wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The 49ers have a legitimately great defense which will take advantage of the Dolphins holes on offense.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, they don't have a great defense. The have a legitimately bad defense on the road, where it has allowed a league-worst 32.8 points per game. So even if Deebo Samuel doesn't play, the 49ers should have more than enough talent to score at least 20 points. And with their great defense, 20 points should be enough to win in the rain.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: 49ers 20, Dolphins 17.
