Sunday: Noon at U.S. Bank Stadium (Ch. 4, 100.3-FM)
ABOUT THE DOLPHINS
• The Dolphins (7-6) had a miracle of their own with a 69-yard hook-and-ladder touchdown in the closing seconds against the Patriots for a 34-33 victory in Miami last Sunday. Kenny Stills, DeVante Parker and Kenyan Drake turned a catch and two laterals into the game-winning score.
• Running back Frank Gore, at age 35, is leading the Dolphins with 708 rushing yards. He's split carries in the backfield with Drake, who has 463 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Dolphins are one of four teams, along with the Vikings, with the fewest rushing touchdowns (six) in the NFL this season.
• The Dolphins defense has only 22 sacks, the league's fewest outside of the Raiders (11). However, Miami has nabbed 19 interceptions — the most behind the Bears (25).
• Cornerback Xavien Howard is having a breakout season for Miami. He leads the Dolphins with 12 pass deflections and is tied for the NFL lead with Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller with seven interceptions in 12 games. Howard, however, sat out Wednesday's practice because of a left knee injury and his status for Sunday's game against the Vikings is uncertain.
PLAYER SPEAK | QB Ryan Tannehill
• Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who missed all of 2017 because of a torn ACL, has fared well after missing five games this season because of a shoulder injury. In his past three games, he's completed 69 percent of his passes for 606 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.
• Tannehill, the 30-year-old former No. 8 overall selection, is 13-8 as a starter under Dolphins coach Adam Gase. His 105.7 passer rating would be a career high if he maintains it.
• Gase on Tannehill's health after he suffered an ankle injury last Sunday vs. New England: "I don't know if he'll be fully healthy, but he's as tough as they come and he'll be ready to go when Sunday comes around. We'll get through the week of practice and see where he's at. I know he's probably not feeling great, but he's never going to say he can't go."
• Gase on developing Tannehill despite missing 21 games in two years: "We just keep going, keep working on the things we can work on. What happened to him in 2016 wasn't anything he could control. This last one was kind of an odd injury getting hit underneath his arm, then last week was really friendly fire. He got stepped on by our own guy."
COACH SPEAK | Adam Gase
• Adam Gase is in his third season as Dolphins head coach with a 23-22 record and 0-1 in the playoffs. The former Bears and Broncos offensive coordinator has struggled to establish his system in Miami. The Dolphins have ranked 24th, 25th and 29th in yardage under Gase.
• Four different quarterbacks have started for Gase in his three Dolphins seasons: Tannehill (21 starts), Jay Cutler (14), Brock Osweiler (5) and Matt Moore (5).
• On which miracle was better, Dolphins over Patriots or Vikings over Saints? "That's tough. I'd say the thing that probably amped theirs up even more was that it was a playoff game. Just being in those, with my experience being in the playoffs, those games are so intense and the emotional swings are so great. I can't even imagine how that felt after that."
• On preparing to play a Vikings offense under a new coordinator: "We'll probably just have to adjust on the fly. The biggest thing for us is we can't focus so much on that. We're always trying to focus on what we're doing and trying to make sure we execute what's in our game plan. We can't get caught up in what's necessarily going on or who is calling plays."
Andrew Krammer
