49ers (5-8) at Dolphins (8-5)
The San Francisco 49ers have owned the AFC East of late, and they can make it three wins in a row against that division by upsetting Miami on Sunday, although the Dolphins are 6.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Over the past two weeks, the 49ers have defeated the Bills and the Jets by a combined score of 34-17, so the defense is clicking. So is QB Shaun Hill, who is completing 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,352 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions since taking over as the starter. The Dolphins have the NFL’s No. 21 pass defense.
However, Hill might not have a big weapon on Sunday as RB Frank Gore is iffy. Gore is questionable with a sprained left ankle, and the 49ers are preparing as though DeShaun Foster will be carrying the load in an offense that’s built around Gore. Foster had just 21 carries in San Francisco’s first 12 games before toting the ball a game-high 16 times during last week’s 24-14 victory over the New York Jets.
Gore, who’s fifth in the NFL with 1,345 total yards from scrimmage, still hopes to be in the lineup, especially since he is from the Miami area. He was injured in last week’s win over the Jets when a pile of players fell on his leg while he strained for a first down. He was on crutches until Tuesday and hadn’t practiced through Thursday.
Gore is 11th in the league with 978 yards rushing and six touchdowns, just shy of his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. He has missed just three games in nearly four seasons with the 49ers.
Miami, meanwhile, will try to win the turnover margin, as it usually does. The Dolphins lead the league in turnover margin (plus-12), have only 10 total turnovers and are on track to have the fewest turnovers per game in NFL history (0.77). San Francisco is last in turnover margin (minus-14) and has 15 interceptions and 15 lost fumbles. The Niners’ Foster lost a fumble in six straight games before not doing so last week. He has lost a fumble in 12 of his 18 career NFL games. Think the Miami defense has been practicing stripping the ball this week?
Fins QB Chad Pennington has been great in his first season in South Florida. He has completed 66.4 percent of his passes and thrown twice as many touchdown passes (12) as he has interceptions (6). His favorite target has become undrafted free-agent WR Davone Bess, who has 20 receptions for 245 yards in the past three games. And Miami still has the two-headed rushing attack of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown.
This is the Niners’ first trip to Miami since 1995.
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