Dolphins and 49ers will both try to bounce back from disappointing losses when they meet Sunday
San Francisco (6-8) at Miami (6-8)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Dolphins by 2 1/2.
Against the spread: 49ers 5-9; Dolphins 5-9.
Series record: Dolphins lead 8-6.
Last meeting: 49ers beat Dolphins 33-17 in Santa Clara, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2022.
Last week: 49ers lost to the Rams 12-6; Dolphins lost to Houston 20-12.
49ers offense: overall (8), rush (8), pass (10), scoring (15).
49ers defense: overall (3), rush (15), pass (2), scoring (17).
Dolphins offense: overall (20), rush (26), pass (14), scoring (24).
Dolphins defense: overall (6), rush (8), pass (8), scoring (13).
Turnover differential: 49ers minus-4; Dolphins minus-5.
49ers player to watch
LB Dre Greenlaw made an impressive return last week in his first game since tearing his Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl. He had eight tackles in the first half and added needed energy and physical play to San Francisco’s defense. Greenlaw sat most of the second half with soreness but appears ready to play a full game Sunday.
Dolphins player to watch
Tua Tagovailoa will be looking to bounce back from one of his worst games of the season last week against Houston. Tagovailoa had four turnovers — a fumble and three interceptions — and had his second-worst passer rating (60.0) this season.
Key matchup
Dolphins offensive line vs. 49ers defensive line. Miami played without its top three tackles last week and struggled in both run blocking and pass protection against Houston’s pass rush. If tackles Terron Armstead (knee) and Kendall Lamm (knee) can’t play again this week, the Dolphins could be in trouble against a San Francisco defensive line led by Nick Bosa, who has 40 tackles and seven sacks this season.
Key injuries
San Francisco LT Trent Williams (ankle) will miss his fifth straight game. … RB Isaac Guerendo is also out after being slowed by a hamstring injury early in the week. … DE Nick Bosa (oblique) is questionable. … Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa popped up on the injury report Wednesday with a hip injury, but he practiced fully on Friday and coach Mike McDaniel said it was nothing to worry about. … WR Jaylen Waddle (knee) is doubtful. … WR Tyreek Hill (wrist), LT Terron Armstead (knee), LB Bradley Chubb (knee), and T Kendall Lamm (back) are questionable. … WR Grant DuBose was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after a hit to the head vs. Houston that hospitalized him.
Series notes
This is the 15th meeting between the two teams, and the home team has won four of the past five. … It will be the second time Mike McDaniel has faced his former team as the Dolphins head coach. Before he was hired by Miami ahead of the 2022 season, McDaniel was the 49ers run game specialist (2017-18), run game coordinator (2019-20) and offensive coordinator (2021). … San Francisco has not visited Miami since 2016.
Stats and stuff
The 49ers have lost four of five games and will have their first losing season since 2020 with one more loss. … San Francisco’s 191 yards last week were the fewest for the team in a regular-season game in eight seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan and the six points were the fewest since Shanahan’s first game in 2017. … Shanahan’s 78 losses in the regular season and playoffs are tied with Bill Walsh for the most in 49ers history. … San Francisco failed to reach the red zone or score a TD in a game last week for the first since Oct. 14, 2012. … The 49ers have punted on only 28.1% of drives for the third-lowest rate in the NFL. … The Niners have allowed an NFL-low 33 plays of at least 20 yards from scrimmage. … San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel is the first WR since 2019 to have five straight games with at least three targets and fewer than 25 yards receiving. … Niners LB Fred Warner is one of five players with at least 100 tackles in each of the past seven seasons. … Guerendo has 203 yards from scrimmage the past two weeks. … Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill needs two touchdowns in the remaining three games to reach seven this season and become the first receiver and fifth player in NFL history to have at least seven scrimmage touchdowns in each of their first nine seasons, joining RBs Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk, LaDanian Tomlinson and Ricky Watters. He also needs 56 receiving yards to reach 11,000 in his career. … QB Tua Tagovailoa had just his second multiple-interception game of the season on Sunday with three interceptions and one lost fumble on Sunday. Tagovailoa also threw three interceptions in Week 2 against Buffalo. … Tagovailoa completed 18 of 33 passes for 295 yards with two interceptions the previous time Miami faced San Francisco. … The Dolphins are 9 of 36 on third downs in their past three games. … Miami has gone from one of the top rushing offenses in the NFL last season — averaging a league-best 5.1 yards per carry — to averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, which is the second-worst mark in the league.
Fantasy tip
TE Jonnu Smith has 18 catches for 232 yards and four touchdowns in his past three home games.
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