Both of these teams need a win and a lot of help to make the playoffs.  With that in mind look for this game to be a slugfest.  The Dolphins will likely come out running the ball against a Steelers’ D that has gotten soft against the run lately.  Rickey Williams is a little gimpy but he will give it a go tomorrow.  The Steelers love to blitz but if Chad Henne has time to throw the ball he should be able to torch the Steelers who have not gotten a interception from their CBs all year long.  Henne spreads the ball around so there is no one the Steelers should really double.

The Dolphins will likely turn OLBs Jason Taylor and Joey Porter loose against the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger tomorrow.  With what is at stake you know that Joey Porter will try to stick it to his old team who thought he was washed up a couple of years ago.  The Fins must blitz early and often to protect their rookie corners.  The Steelers will also be giving the rock to Rashard Mendenhall a lot tomorrow so the Fins will have a lot to worry about on defense.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 21, DOLPHINS 20

This might be the best football game of the day tomorrow in Nashville, Tennessee.  The Dolphins have won 5 of their last 7 games while the Titans have won 6 of their last 7 games.  The Dolphins will probably open up the offense a little more than usual in this game due to the Titans’ pass defense which is allowing 258.2 yards passing per game this season.  The Titans will likely gang up to try to stop Ricky Williams and they do have a decent run defense as they have only allowed 99.4 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  Expect the Dolphins to try to be close to 50/50 on run and pass plays tomorrow.

The Dolphins will have to go all out to try to stop Chris Johnson tomorrow.  That is easier said than done as he already has 2,017 yards rushing and receiving and he has scored 13 TDs this year!  If the Dolphins can slow down Johnson some then they can attack the pocket by blitzing as Vince Young is a tad gimpy with a hamstring injury.  With Young not being able to take off out of the pocket his injury takes away a key weapon in the Titans’ offense.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 28, DOLPHINS 27

The Dolphins have won 3 of their last four games while the Jaguars have won 4 of their last five games so these teams both come into this game hot.  The Dolphins won’t change how they play the game this weekend as Ricky Williams will likely be the focal point of the offense against a Jags’ D that is allowing 103.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  If that works then Chad Henne will likely have another great game on Sunday as the Jags only have 12 sacks on the year.  That means that he should be able to get the ball downfield off of play action passes to Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, Ted Ginn and Greg Camarillo. 

The Jaguars will be leaning heavily on Maurice Jones-Drew in this game so the front seven of the Fins will likely need to be up for the challenge.  The Jaguars have allowed 34 sacks this season so the Dolphins should be able to get a lot of pressure on him.  Also, Garrard’s top receiver (Mike Sims-Walker) is doubtful for this game due to knee and calf injuries.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 23, JAGUARS 20

The Patriots have a weak schedule the rest of the way so they need to finish off the Dolphins’ hopes this Sunday.  The Dolphins need to take care of business this weekend or they should start getting ready for 2010.  The Patriots beat the Dolphins four weeks ago 27-17 at Foxboro.  The Patriots will stick to the same thing that worked so well against the Fins the first time and that is throwing the football.  Tom Brady threw for 332 times the last time these two teams played and he will likely torture the rookie corners on the Fins’ roster.  Look for Randy Moss and Wes Welker to both go over 100 yards receiving in this game.  The Patriots will likely only turn to the running game to help grind out the clock.

The Dolphins will come out running the football against the Patriots on Sunday.  The Patriots are allowing 109.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so Ricky Williams should get his share of yards.  Still, look for the front seven and the safeties to be creeping up into the box to stop the Fins’ running game.  The Dolphins must have Chad Henne take a few deep shots off play action or it’s going to be a long day for them offensively.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 30, DOLPHINS 17

This is a big game for both teams tomorrow night as they each sit at 4-5 on the year.  The Dolphins will be without Ronnie Brown which could force them to throw the ball a bit more than usual.  Still, they will try to ride Ricky Williams against a Panthers’ D that is allowing 128.1 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  The Dolphins will likely have to throw the ball a few times on first down to make the Panthers pay for cheating the safeties up towards the line of scrimmage.  That would mean that Ted Ginn and Brian Hartline will have to step up and that is a iffy proposition.  But, Chad Henne has a strong enough arm to get the ball deep if he has time to throw the ball.  That means that the Dolphins will have to keep DE Julius Peppers (who is playing with a broken hand) out of the backfield which is easier said than done.

The Panthers will likely pound the ball with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart against a Dolphins’ D that is only allowing 97.6 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry so something will have to give in this game.  The Panthers could also come out throwing the ball before they run it to try to get the Dolphins out of their comfort zone offensively getting them to play from behind.  To do that though the Panthers will need to keep Jason Taylor, Cameron Wake and Charlie Anderson away from Jake Delhomme.  Because if Delhomme has time to throw the ball he will likely beat the rookie CBs of the Dolphins with Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammad.  Delhomme has been better about protecting the football and look for that to continue tomorrow night against a Fins’ D with 8 interceptions that is allowing 239.4 yards passing per game.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 27, DOLPHINS 20