Dolphins to See Old Friend in Week 5

The Miami Dolphins will face their former backup quarterback when they play against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) passes the football against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will start their third different quarterback on Monday night, and in their next game, they'll face another of their former backups at the position.

Veteran Jacoby Brissett has been the placeholder for rookie third-round pick Drake Maye for the New England Patriots, and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo said Monday that that will continue until further notice.

"Jacoby is 100% our starter," Mayo told New England reporters. "He's 100% our starter, and that's how we're going to look at this going forward. Hopefully I cleared it up."

When Maye gets into the lineup, it is a hot topic of conversation. The Patriots are juggling the reality that they won't be contenders this season with the desire to protect Maye from being thrown into action prematurely in an offense with severe issues in pass protection and playmaking ability.

Statistically, there's certainly reason for New England to make a switch, with Brissett's passer rating of 77.0, which ranks 27th in the NFL.

Brissett hasn't passed for more than 168 yards during the Patriots' 1-3 start and has only two touchdown passes against one interception. Again, this team lacks playmakers and a shaky offensive line, which has led to Brissett being sacked 15 times in four games.

But Mayo insisted Monday morning that Brissett, who served as Tua Tagovailoa's backup in Miami in 2021, is the right man for the job.

"In my opinion, Jacoby's done it," Mayo said. "I'm not going to get into the hypotheticals or the whys of it. He's done a good job doing what we've asked. Are there a lot of plays that we could do a better job with? Absolutely, but I would never question his toughness, his dependability, his leadership style for this team, and that's what we need right now."

FAVORABLE QB STRETCH FOR THE DOLPHINS DEFENSE

Counting Brissett, the Dolphins are in the midst of a three-game stretch where they will face quarterbacks all in the bottom seven in the league regarding passer rating.

It starts with Will Levis (sixth-worst at 76.5) on Monday night, followed by Brissett and, after the bye, the Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson, who has the second-worst passer rating in the league at 60.2 rating.

Of course, the Dolphins have their own QB issues to navigate, but this break is why there's reason for optimism they can stay afloat during Tua Tagovailoa's absence.

New England is the only one of the six teams that drafted a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft that the Dolphins will face this year. This season, the second game between the teams is scheduled for Week 12 at Hard Rock Stadium.