Thursday Night Preview: Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans ?

Week 8 gets underway on Thursday, October 25 (8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon) as the Houston Texans welcome the Miami Dolphins to NRG Stadium. The Dolphins and Texans face off for the ninth time with Houston holding a 7-1 series advantage. In the last meeting between the two teams, Dolphins quarterback RYAN TANNEHILL completed 18 of 19 passes (94.7 percent) for 282 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 158.3 passer rating – the highest-attainable mark – in Miami’s 44-26 home victory on October 25, 2015.

In Week 7, Dolphins quarterback BROCK OSWEILER passed for two touchdowns and running back KENYAN DRAKE rushed for a 54-yard score in the team’s loss to Detroit. Dolphins linebacker KIKO ALONSO ranks second in the NFL with 66 tackles and is the only player with at least 50 tackles and three forced fumbles (three) this season. Running back FRANK GORE has 18,087 career scrimmage yards in his 14-year NFL career and can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer BARRY SANDERS (18,190) for the sixth-most scrimmage yards in league history. 

Houston’s defense, led by defensive end JADEVEON CLOWNEY (two sacks and a fumble recovery) and safety TYRANN MATHIEU (one sack and one interception), held Jacksonville to 259 total net yards in Week 7 en route to a 20-7 victory over the Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field. Clowney, who is tied for second in the AFC with nine tackles for loss this season, has 46 TFL since 2016, the second-most in the NFL over the span (CHANDLER JONES, 49). Texans defensive end J.J. WATT has seven sacks in his past five games and is one of two NFL players (VON MILLER) with at least seven sacks (seven) and four forced fumbles (four) this season.