Gameday Newsletter: Week 17, Dolphins
The pregame information you need as the Browns continue to try to improve their draft slot.
Hello there BFB faithful and I do not throw the word faithful around lightly there. The beloved Cleveland Browns return for another matchup this week that has everything on the line for their opponent and nothing on the line other than draft positioning for the hometown team.
With the Jaguars and Titans set to square off again this is a situation where the Browns could leave Week 17 with the fourth pick in the draft firmly in place. Then if the loser of the Jaguars/Titans game decides to get frisky in meaningless games for their opponents in Week 18 the Browns could find their way up to the 3rd pick. You might hate this discussion and preference, and I get that, but the goal here is to get the best pick possible in the midst of a brutal season. Late December wins mean nothing in these situations but getting the best pick possible will matter come late April.
That pursuit of a bad outcome got tougher yesterday as the Dolphins ruled out quarterback Tua Tagovailoa due to his hip injury. That means former Brown Tyler “Snoop” Huntley will get the start for the Dolphins today. This will be a matchup of quarterbacks who handled the second half of Browns preseason games earlier this year. Yeah, just as we all saw coming back in August.
The Broncos’ loss in Cincinnati last night does mean the game still has massive implications for the Dolphins. They are still alive in the playoff hunt so the will to care more about this game should rest firmly on the visitors sideline. The weather is the wildcard here as it could impact this game, so nothing feels safe.
The Browns will be without David Njoku, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Cedric Tillman so they will be fighting another uphill battle. Both teams have opposite implications in this one for the result so we will see if the results meet the desired pathway or if things go off the rails.
For any of you brave souls going to the game today for the 4:05 PM EST kickoff, there seems to be some madness around the stadium. Here is what we know and worth noting before heading that way.
Inside the weekly Gameday Newsletter you will get all the pieces of information paired with your Gameday Podcast to enhance your Sundays with this team.
Per the Sunday usual, I request that you sit back, pour your beer or liquor, and enjoy this delivery of all the best pre-game information from the BFB staff.
This is a tough one to forecast. It will be unseasonably warm, in the 50s pushing toward 60. It is going to be rainy in the morning but it is still unclear if it will clear out in the afternoon. If it does, there is actually a chance of storms on Sunday evening. If it stays rainy, expect more of a drizzly gray day. This is a 2.5/10 type day, only bonus being that it's not too cold.
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