Sportsnaut
Three keys to victory for the New England Patriots (0-1) entering their Week 2 road game against the Miami Dolphins (0-1):
No Long Shots
No area needs more improvement from New England’s Week 1 performance than pass defense. Geno Smith passed for 362 yards and a touchdown to lead Las Vegas to a 20-13 victory over New England last Sunday. Of particular concern is Las Vegas’ ability to throw deep. Smith completed nine passes of at least 20 yards in the win – the most in his NFL career.
It’s worth noting that New England will again be without top cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who has been ruled out of Sunday’s matchup with a lingering hamstring injury. Gonzalez suffered the injury in training camp July 28 and hasn’t practiced since then.
The Dolphins have plenty of speed on the outside with wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, so getting pressure on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa may be the best way to slow Miami’s deep passing attack. NFL teams seem to have found a recipe for limiting Hill’s big plays, as he hasn’t had a reception of 30 yards or more since Week 1 of the 2024 season.
No Miami receiver averaged more than 10 yards per catch in last week’s 33-8 loss to the Colts.
Rely on the Rookie
Big plays aren’t going to come easy for the New England offense this season, so the Patriots would be wise to get the ball in running back TreVeyon Henderson’s hands as much as possible.
Henderson, the 38th overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft, showed big-play ability during the preseason in the running game as well as the return game. Although it was preseason, Henderson returned a kickoff 100 yards the first time he touched the ball in an NFL contest.
Henderson was targeted six times against the Raiders and came away with six receptions, but he was used sparingly in the running game. He averaged a team-best 5.4 yards per carry, but had only five attempts for 27 yards.
Indianapolis ran the ball 40 times and averaged 3.9 yards per attempt during last Sunday’s victory over Miami. Two of the Colts’ three TDs in that win came on the ground. New England doesn’t have enough playmakers to not hand the ball off to Henderson at least 10 times Sunday.
Pay no attention to history
New England will be attempting to end a four-game losing streak against the Dolphins, and a five-game losing streak in Miami. New England’s last road victory against the Dolphins was a 43-0 win in 2019.
In addition, New England hasn’t had any success against Tagovailoa, who is 7-0 against the Patriots during his career.
Prediction: Dolphins 23, Patriots 20
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