The Miami Dolphins suffered a crushing loss against the Buffalo Bills and must find some way to bounce back quickly as a team. While the run game excelled for the team, Ryan Tannehill struggled heavily which stalled out the offense in Week 9. There is no rest for the Dolphins as they prepare to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and they hope to have some players back and healthy for the game.
DeVante Parker has not had the rookie season everyone expected of him. The wide receiver underwent foot surgery during training camp and has struggled to get back on the field and be productive. After experiencing scar tissue pain last week, Parker was out for the Week 9 game. According to CBS Miami, Parker is expected back onto the field in Week 10 as they hope to begin getting the wide receiver going in a positive direction. With just four catches on the year, Parker could be a critical x-factor in turning things around. According to head coach Dan Campbell, the injury is not a big deal and Parker should be back.
"Yeah, it looks like it was some irritation in that foot," Campbell said, via CBSSports.com. "We don't think it's a big deal, it obviously ended up being bigger than we thought it would for a week, but we anticipate that he'll be ok and he'll be back next week and again, to this point it feels a little more like that, but he did feel better today, he did run around a little bit and we'll see where he's at too."
The return of Parker could really help Tannehill who struggled against the Bills defense. Botched snaps were the name of the game while poor accuracy hurt the wide receivers in the game. The one bright spot was running back Lamar Miller who shined against the Bills and appears to be improving as the season goes along. While the dominance of Miller was nice, the progress of rookie Jay Ajayi was good for the Dolphins. The draft pick had been out with a rib injury suffered in the preseason, but made a positive debut for the team which has the Dolphins excited about his potential to help open up the offense.
"I would probably say it's been some of the longest eight weeks of my life," Ajayi said via James Walker of ESPN prior to Week 9. "It feels good. It definitely was a different feeling waking up [Monday] morning. It was a long time coming for sure. I'm just waiting to find out if I will get activated and I'm getting ready to play. I'm ready to get it going. I feel like I'm an all-around back that can also make big plays for this team. I just want to be able to help contribute to our great offense."
Getting Parker and Ajayi moving in the right direction would at least give the Dolphins something to build on for the future. Another loss and their season could be put on ice, but the young talent means there could be brighter days ahead in Miami.
