Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins are both under some pressure already. Having lost their respective season openers, falling to 0-2 would put either team in a challenging position. Since the NFL moved to its 17-game format in 2021, after all, only 16.7 percent of clubs starting the season with back-to-back losses (5 of 30) managed to eventually qualify for the playoff.
So, while losing in Week 1 and Week 2 is not necessary a death knell for a team’s postseason hopes it makes the long-term outlook far less favorable. Both the Patriots and Dolphins would want to avoid that on Sunday.
Who will meet that undesirable fate will be seen, but the game between the two division rivals projects to be a tightly-contested one.
Patriots pass offense vs. Dolphins pass defense: Despite Drake Maye setting a new career high in passing yards, New England’s passing offense fell short of expectation in Week 1 against the Raiders. Luckily, it will get a chance at a bounce-back in Week 2. Sure, Miami does have some disruptive talent up front that will prove a challenge to the offensive line, but the team’s pass defense as a whole struggled versus the Colts’ Daniel Jones last Sunday. Injuries in particular continue to be a major concern for Miami, especially now that starting cornerback Storm Duck is also a realistic candidate to miss the game with an ankle injury. At least on paper, this means advantage Patriots. | Edge: Patriots
Patriots pass defense vs. Dolphins pass offense: Based on Week 1, the Dolphins passing offense will again only be as good as Tua Tagovailoa allows it to be. Against the Colts, the sixth-year quarterback had a rough go, tossing two interceptions and losing a fumble. Indianapolis cornerback Xavien Howard later spoke about getting him into “panic mode” by making him go through his reads; while that might be a bit of an exaggeration, the Patriots — even with Christian Gonzalez likely out again — should be able to put Tagovailoa in uncomfortable situations, particularly because Miami might also start a new tackle-guard combo protecting his blind side. Unless the team’s second-level struggles versus play action continue, New England should be able to disrupt its opponent’s success through the air. | Edge: Patriots
Patriots rushing offense vs. Dolphins run defense: Josh McDaniels claimed this week that he wanted to get his running backs more involved in the offensive operation after a quiet season opener. However, even when they got the ball last week, there was little room for them to make a positive impact. Until the New England offensive line can show its ability to reliably block in the run game and execute its assignments on an adequate level — we are looking at the combination of rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson in particular — questions will remain. | Edge: Dolphins
Patriots run defense vs. Dolphins rushing offense: De’Von Achane is a good player, and Mike McDaniel as...
