New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots are holding on to hope that their impressive season will end atop the AFC.
New England is tied with the Denver Broncos for the first seed in the conference, but thanks to the Broncos’ two wins over the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver will win the tiebreaker.
With recent news surfacing earlier this week that the Broncos’ Week 18 opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, will be resting starters against Denver, the Chargers’ win that New England needs seems to be a long shot.
Even so, head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Wednesday that the Patriots’ starters are expected to play Sunday afternoon against the surging Miami Dolphins.
“#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel says all healthy players are expected to play vs. the Dolphins on Sunday,” Evan Lazar reported.
New England not only wants to have one last chance to get the first seed, but also wants to clinch home-field advantage over the rest of the field with a victory on Sunday.
The Dolphins started the season 1-6 but have won six out of their last nine games heading into the final week of the regular season.
This resurgence included winning four straight in November, starting with a commanding 30-13 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 10.
Three weeks ago, Miami made the switch to seventh-round rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, benching long-time starter Tua Tagovailoa in the process.
Ewers earned his first career win as a starter last week over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He threw his first two career touchdowns in the 20-17 victory.
The rookie is expected to start against New England.
