To Miami Dolphins fans and most NFL followers, the Dolphins should defeat Washington on Sunday in Madrid, Spain (9:30 a.m. eastern time). The Commanders, who are on a five-game losing streak, will be without their starting quarterback (Jayden Daniels/elbow), top wide receiver (Terry McLaurin/quad), and top defensive tackle (Daron Payne/suspension).

The Dolphins, on the other hand, are relatively healthy, riding the momentum of last Sunday’s stunning 30-13 upset of the Buffalo Bills, and have played exceptionally well while winning two of their past three games.

Yes, this is a matchup of a pair of 3-7 teams (sorry, Madrid), but there’s still intrigue.

Here’s what to watch for in Sunday morning’s game: 

Front seven playing disciplined football

The Dolphins’ defensive front seven is showing signs of trust, meaning they’re all doing their 1/11th, as they say, and not trying to do too much. They’re trusting that the man next to them will do his job. Previously, players didn’t trust the man next to them and consequently they would try to do their job and his job. That frequently led to disaster.

As a result of this increased trust factor we’ve seen the Dolphins’ run defense shut down running backs such as Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson (25 yards rushing) and Buffalo’s James Cook (53 yards), and the pass defense shut down Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (173 yards passing, no touchdowns, no interceptions) and limit Bills quarterback Josh Allen (306 yards passing, two touchdowns, one interception).

We’ll see if the front seven delivers similar results against Washington, whose offensive live features left tackle Laremy Tunsil, the Dolphins’ 2016 first-round pick, and left guard Chris Paul, older brother of Dolphins left tackle Patrick Paul.

Achane-Waddle production

Running back De’Von Achane (780 yards rushing, five touchdowns; 325 yards receiving, four touchdowns) and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (46 receptions, 670 yards, five touchdowns) have been really good recently.

Achane (225 yards from scrimmage) and Waddle (84) accounted for 309 yards of the Dolphins’ 370 yards from scrimmage against the Bills.

There’s not much anyone has to do here beyond their regular jobs. OK, coach Mike McDaniel must stick with the run, something he’s done fairly well recently after being spotty in that area in the previous three and a half seasons.

But among the offensive line, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and McDaniel, if everyone does what they’re capable of doing, Achane and Waddle can take care of the rest.

Playing a clean game

Let’s focus on penalties. It hasn’t been perfect recently, but it’s improving. In the past three games the Dolphins have committed 14 penalties for 134 yards while their opponents have committed 19 penalties for 199 yards. This is one aspect of what McDaniel and his players mean when they talk about reducing self-inflicted wounds. 

Set aside what might or might not have been penalties against Buffalo game — fullback Alec Ingold (false start) and linebacker Bradley Chubb (taunting) — and consider the Dolphins haven’t recently had costly penalties such as the roughing/running into the punter violations that they had at Indianapolis and at Buffalo earlier this season. That reduction in penalties, both large and small, must continue.

Strong offensive line play

The Dolphins’ starting offensive line of center Aaron Brewer, left guard Jonah Savaiinaea, left tackle Patrick Paul, right guard Cole Strange and right tackle Larry Borom, and including guard Daniel Brunskill, the sixth offensive lineman/tight end, should be poised to have another good day as run blockers and pass protectors. 

The Commanders are 23rd in rushing defense (134.4 yards allowed per game) and 31st in passing defense 260.2 yards allowed per game).

The Dolphins have rushed for more than 100 yards in two of their past three games, and Tagovailoa has only been sacked three times in the past three games. Both reflect well on the offensive line and their coach, Butch Barry.

Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner (99 tackles, second in NFL) is a tackling machine. The Dolphins must be wary of his presence. But Payne’s absence is big, and it works in the Dolphins’ favor.

The offensive line has a good opportunity to continue its ascent.

Meeting expectations

The Dolphins are expected to win this game, not just by oddsmakers but by the NFL public. Let’s see how they handle those expectations, and how they handle the prosperity of finally defeating Buffalo. 

Washington will let it all hang out. The Commanders are expected to lose. They might take some big chances.

Let’s see if McDaniel can call a good game, if the front seven and offensive line can continue their solid performances, if the Dolphins can reduce self-inflicted damage and if they can win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Prediction time — will Miami defeat Commanders in Madrid? | VIDEO