Miami-Oakland: Chad Pennington against the Oakland Secondary

The Oakland Raiders (2-7) travel to Miami this weekend to play the Dolphins (5-4) in a matchup that is important for Miami, but not so much for Oakland. If the Dolphins want a chance to make the playoffs, they need to win this game.

The Raiders are the worst scoring team in the NFL, so hopefully Miami can hold them to little or no production. Oakland has scored only six points in the last two games. Their only strength on offense is the run, with which they are ninth in yards per game.

Expect Joey Porter to get at least another sack, and the Dolphins' defensive line to hold up well against the running game, though.

Miami's passing offense is their biggest strength, but Oakland's passing defense is pretty much their only strength. So, Chad Pennington needs to do well if Miami wants to beat the Raiders by a good margin. If Pennington can stay turnover free, then Miami should have a good chance to win.

Miami has done well when they run trick plays, so they should try a few and see how they work against the Raiders. Last week, both Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown capitalized on trick plays with a flea-flicker and a running back-to-running back hand off.

All different players have stepped up in recent weeks for Miami. Last week it was Ricky Williams, and I am interested to see who it will be this week.

If the Dolphins' passing offense is working, it will be hard for Oakland to stop us. So, the key to the game for me will be Miami's passing game vs. Oakland's defense.

Miami has more wins in a row than Oakland has all season, so hopefully we can extend that streak.

My prediction: 17-9, Miami pulls it out in a pretty close game.