For the Miami Dolphins, it was a happy result on Monday night, as they overcame a challenge from the New York Jets to capture their first win of the season (27-21).
But it came with something extremely unpleasant, as they lost their most dangerous player for the rest of the year.
Tyreek Hill caught six passes for 67 yards before suffering a gruesome injury that will keep him out of action for the rest of the season.
Now Mike McDaniel and his staff have to figure out how to adjust to this turn of events as they take a trip to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers at 1 PM Eastern time Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Both teams have 1-3 records coming into this game.
NFL pointspread odds for the Dolphins-Panthers game
At BetUS, this game is currently rated as a pick’em matchup:
Miami Dolphins pick
Carolina Panthers
Over 44.5 Points -110
Under 44.5 Points -110
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What happened to Miami’s dynamic wide receiver
What Hill suffered was a dislocated knee, an injury serious enough that it has an effect on the ligaments around it, like the ACL, MCL, LCL and PCL. That’s a lot of alphabet soup right there.
He had surgery to address the issue on Tuesday.
Mike McDaniel says that Hill is not expected to need multiple surgeries, so the surgery he’s had will likely be the only one.
And Hill’s agent, Drew Rosehaus, says he expects that after a period of rehab, his client will be back on the field in 2026.
Who he’ll be playing for when he’s back on the field is a question. The Dolphins will get to save an awful lot of money if they cut Hill loose after June 1 – $36 million in salary cap space, to be exact. So with his physical condition what it is now, he has most likely played his last game in a Miami uniform, and perhaps ANY uniform.
What effect will Hill’s absence have?
As for Sunday’s game against Carolina, the Dolphins are going to have to imrpovise on relatively short notice.
De’Von Achane is saying “Next man up,” but it’s obviously not as simple as all that.
The guy has only been unavailable for one entire game since the 2022 season. So they are not used to coming up with an offensive game plan that doesn’t have him in it.
So what will the Dolphins do on offense?
It is probable that in the absence of Hill, the player who was really best at stretching defenses, Miami will give an enhanced role to someone like Malik Washington, who was a sixth-round draft pick last season. They also have Jaylen Waddle, who made up what was once an awesome 1-2 punch with Hill.
You’ll also see some additional time for running back Achane, who has 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash. Achane averaged a league-leading 7.8 yards per carry as a rookie and had 592 receiving yards last season.
The Dolphins were fortunate on Monday night with the return of tight end Darren Waller, who caught a pair of touchdown passes. And they have yet to see the best out of Ollie Gordon, the rookie who led the nation in rushing a couple of years ago at Oklahoma State.
So who’s going to cover the NFL pointspread in the Dolphins-Panthers game?
Well, it’s quite possible that without Tyreek Hill, the Miami offense will go very flat. Yes, they gave an inspired effort after he had to leave Monday night’s game, but in the NFL, that’s no guarantee it’s going to be the case the next week.
Carolina actually outgained the Patriots last week, and had a substantial edge in time of possession, but still lost the game 42-13. The Panthers failed on special teams and gave up a few explosive plays.
What’s maybe a little surprising here is that when these teams have gotten into the red zone, they have been successful at scoring touchdowns – Miami at 80% and Carolina at 70%. So although there is some struggle here, the conditions may be present for some scoring.
THE PLAY: OVER 44.5 POINTS
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