When QB Dillon Gabriel and Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa face off on Oct. 19, it will be the first time in NFL history that two quarterbacks from Hawaii start against each other, according to Pro Football Reference.
Gabriel and Tagovailoa's Week 7 matchup at Huntington Bank Field is also the first time two left-handed quarterbacks are starting in the same game since the 2006 season, per NFL Research. For the two Hawaii natives, it's the first time they've played against each other since high school.
"He's a smooth thrower," Tagovailoa said of Gabriel. "I knew of him as he was growing up. I might have played him one year as he was a freshman playing varsity. Then, he went into college and did his thing. He's a smooth thrower, can run, sees the field really well and he's a Hawaii boy, so you always have to support the guys from back home."
Week 7 will be Gabriel's third NFL start, giving Miami just two full games of tape to prepare for the Browns quarterback. Despite this, Dolphins LB Bradley Chubb said he is taking the same approach to his preparation as he does any other quarterback.
"We're just mastering what we do," Chubb said. "Just learning from the mistakes that we've made and bettering ourselves so that we can play to the full capability of our scheme, of our defense, of our players. Not changing what we do, just adapting each and every game plan."
Miami must also adapt to DE Myles Garrett, with head coach Mike McDaniel noting the impact he can have in any given game. The Dolphins saw firsthand in last season's Week 17 matchup what Garrett can do to opposing offenses. He recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss in a game in which the Browns hit the quarterback eight times.
Dolphins T Patrick Paul, according to head coach Mike McDaniel, looks forward to matchups against the NFL's premier edge rushers. Paul said getting assigned Garrett and blocking him is going to be fun, admiring the skill set he brings.
"He's an elite rusher, he has size and speed," Paul said. "He has power. Size and speed equal power. Mass plus speed, that's power. So yeah, he has power."
McDaniel said Miami is prioritizing Garrett in the game plan, trying to find different ways to contain him. One of those ways is that, while Paul may be the primary blocker on Garrett, the responsibility of blocking him has to be spread across the entire Dolphins' offense and not just one individual.
"It may take a receiver adding an extra bump to his pass rush or a chip, to help (Patrick Paul) block him, or it may take the appropriate receiver route and quarterback timing to block him and to beat his pass rush," McDaniel said. "It may take a turn, or we may account on one play, three guys on him. But you do that in a collection of plays, over the course of the game and it's never one person's responsibility."
McDaniel warned against focusing solely on Garrett due to the talent on the Browns' defense. This season, the Browns' defense has limited their opponents on the ground and through the air, ranking third in rushing yards allowed per game and seventh in passing yards allowed per game. They have been one of the top teams at stopping plays in the backfield, notching 14 sacks – tied for 11th in the NFL – and are tied for fourth with 35 tackles for loss.
Players on the defensive line with Garrett like defensive ends Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire both have four tackles for loss this season and three sacks between the two of them. DT Maliek Collins is second on the Browns in sacks behind Garrett, recording 3.5 sacks this season, including two against the Vikings.
"Part of the challenge of this particular defense and why they're playing so well is because if you overcommit to one player, you leave yourself extremely vulnerable to the other players," McDaniel said. "This group has a plethora of really good defensive linemen, so you have to balance it."
