I don’t believe in moral victories, at least not in the NFL. No one cares if your team is plagued with injuries and that you’re missing your top receiving targets and running backs. No one cares if you’re starting a rookie quarterback who is coming off a serious hip injury or that you have three “freshmen” starting on the offensive line. The NFL season still goes on, and this pandemic has proven that. You’re either a good team, or you’re bad, and there’s no excuse for being bad.

I say that because this Dolphin’s coaching staff doesn’t believe in moral victories either. This coaching staff doesn’t hide behind excuses and have the ability to actually coach players and get them to be productive. Man is that refreshing as a Dolphins fan.

You don’t hear them hide behind injuries or rookies. You hear them talk about the importance of the next man up mentality, playing like a team, and creating a winning environment.

Like when he was asked, during his media availability, what determines a good defense? Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer gave a short, but sweet answer. “Wins.”

Not points allowed. Not yardage or turnovers, but wins. I really enjoyed hearing that response from our defensive coordinator.

With two games left to play, and two wins needed to make the playoffs, the Miami Dolphins seem to be in the right mindset. Win. And they’ll need to do that this Saturday against the (7-7) Las Vegas Raiders in their newly minted stadium.

For the second week in the row, the Miami Dolphins will be looking to knock someone out of the AFC playoff race. As well as making sure they maintain possession of their spot in the playoffs. Both the Dolphins and the Raiders need to win this game to keep their playoff chances alive. Making for another tough match-up for the Dolphins.

To make matters more difficult, the Dolphins will have to prepare for two different quarterbacks for this game. The Raiders starting quarterback, Derek Carr, suffered a groin injury last week and is questionable to play against Miami. If Carr cannot play, then back-up Marcus Mariota will take his place, and that might not be a good thing for the Dolphins. Mariota’s mobile skillset presents an issue that the Dolphins defense has had difficulties containing. Not to mention, Mariota’s experience and arm talent could have made him a starter if he was on a different team. Usually, I’d like the idea of facing off against another team’s back-up quarterback. Not this time.

Fortunately, the Dolphins seem to be getting many of their players back from injury and the covid list. Salvon Ahmed returned to the line-up last week and dished out a huge performance with 122 yards rushing and a touchdown to defeat the Patriots. This week, starter Myles Gaskin is back on the active roster and could be ready by game day. Adding another element to the Dolphins running game. While top receiving targets Devante Parker and Mike Gesicki were both limited in practice, leaving them questionable for this week’s match-up. Dolphin’s fans will have their fingers crossed that at least one, if not both, will be ready to go on game day.

I’m sure that Miami’s coaching staff would love to have everyone available on game day, but they understand that it is out of their control. All that these coaches can do is continue to focus on the task at hand. Continue to worry about the only thing that matters right now. Get this team determined to accomplish one thing.

Win.