Pats Pulpit
Coming off a disappointing season opener, the New England Patriots will travel to Miami for their first division game of the year. Taking on the Dolphins in a battle of 0-1 squads, they will hope to get back on track and celebrate the first win of the Mike Vrabel era.
Standing in their way is a Dolphins team that has not lost to the Patriots at home since 2019, but one that has had its issues so far this year. With that said, let’s take a closer look at New England’s Week 2 opponent.
As noted above, the Dolphins opened the season with a loss. Their statistics reflect the lopsided nature of that 33-8 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts.
Record: 0-1 (4th AFC East)
Scoring differential: -25 (32nd)
Turnover differential: -3 (32nd)
Offense: 8.0 points/game (31st), 211.0 yards/game (30th), 3 giveaways (t-30th), -0.472 EPA/dropback (32nd), 0.387 EPA/run (1st)
Defense: 33.0 points/game (29th), 418.0 yards/game (29th), 0 takeaways (t-19th), 0.360 EPA/dropback (25th), 0.082 EPA/run (27th)
The Dolphins were bad across the board in their season opener. They turned the ball over three times in their first four possessions, struggled moving the ball or stopping their opponent, and as a result were already down 30-0 by the time they finally found the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.
Unsurprisingly, that outing has Miami ranked near the bottom of the league in virtually all of the major statistical categories outlined above. All but one, that is: the Dolphins’ running game was superb, at least through the eyes of the expected points added metric. That number, however, is not an entirely accurate reflection of the team’s potency on the ground given the game script and the fact that Miami ran the ball just 12 times all day (gaining 78 net yards in the process).
Then again, none of the numbers above necessarily show what the Dolphins (or Colts) are capable of. With only one game in the books, it is simply too early in the season to draw definitive statistical conclusions.
As noted above, the Dolphins got blown out in Week 1 and were never truly competitive in their season opener. It will therefore be fascinating to see where the journey takes the team this season; the calls for head coach Mike McDaniel will only get louder should Miami continue to losses to a season tally that currently looks like this:
On paper, the Dolphins will have a solid chance to bounce back in Week 2. The Patriots, who lost their own season opener 20-13, also look like a potentially vulnerable team themselves. Both teams will be under quite a bit of pressure already come Sunday.
(Note: Roster up-to-date as of Sept. 11, 7 a.m. ET; *indicates projected starter)
Quarterback (3): Tua Tagovailoa* (1), Zach Wilson (0), Quinn Ewers (14)
Running back (4): De’Von Achane* (28), Jaylen Wright (5),...
