Setting the Stage for the Week 12 Dolphins-Patriots Matchup

Breaking down all the details for the Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots game at Hard Rock Stadium.

New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas (3) rushes against Miami Dolphins linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. (6) and linebacker Jordyn Brooks (20) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will look to make it three in a row and stay in the AFC playoff picture when they face the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 12 Dolphins-Patriots matchup.

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MIAMI DOLPHINS (4-6) vs. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (3-8)

• Date: Sunday, November 24, 2024
• Time: 1 PM ET
• Site: Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla.
• Weather Channel Forecast: The temperature around Hard Rock Stadium between 1 and 4 p.m. ET on Sunday is expected to be 76-77 degrees with mostly sunny skies. No precipitation is predicted, and the wind is expected to be 8 mph.
• TV: CBS (the game will be shown in most of Florida, the New England region and some parts of Alabama)
• Announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Adam Archuleta (color analyst), Aditi Kinhabwala (sidelines)

Additional content:
-- Dolphins Week 12 Rooting Guide
-- Flexing and the Remainder of the Dolphins Schedule
-- How the Dolphins Will Tighten Up Coverage on the Tight End
-- All Dolphins Podcast Behind Enemy Lines Episode

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FINAL INJURY REPORT

• Dolphins — CB Kendall Fuller (concussion) is out; T Terron Armstead (knee), FB Alec Ingold (calf), S Patrick McMorris (calf) and OL Isaiah Wynn (quad/knee) are questionable.

• Patriots — DT Jaquelin Roy (neck) is out; DT Christian Barmore (NIR-other), S Kyle Dugger (ankle), CB Christian Gonzalez (hip), LB Anfernee Jennings (knee), T Vederian Lowe (shoulder), S Marte Mapu (neck), OL Cole Strange (knee), LB Sione Takitaki (knee), LB Keion White (knee) and DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (foot) are questionable.

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DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS REGULAR SEASON HISTORY

Regular Season Series History: Dolphins lead 62-53

Last Five Meetings:

1. October 6, 2024 at New England — Dolphins 15, Patriots 10
2. October 29, 2023 at Miami — Dolphins 31, Patriots 17
3. September 17, 2023 at New England — Dolphins 24, Patriots 17
4. January 1, 2023, at New England — Patriots 23, Dolphins 21
5. September 11, 2022 at Miami — Dolphins 20, Patriots 7

Series Superlatives:

• Dolphins' Largest Margin of Victory: 52 (1972 at Miami; Dolphins 52, Patriots 0)
• Dolphins' Largest Margin of Defeat: 43 (2019 at Miami; Patriots 43, Dolphins 0)
• Highest-Scoring Matchup: 77 points (2007 at Miami; Patriots 49, Dolphins 28)
• Lowest-Scoring Matchup: 3 points (1982 at New England; Dolphins 3, Patriots 0)

Connections:

• Former Patriots Players with the Dolphins: WR Braxton Berrios (2018), P Jake Bailey (2019-22), TE Jonnu Smith (2021-22), WR coach Wes Welker (2007-12)
• Former Patriots Coaches with the Dolphins: Senior offensive assistant Chandler Henley, OLB coach Ryan Crowe
• Former Dolphins Players with the Patriots: QB Jacoby Brissett, DL Davon Godchaux
• Former Dolphins Coaches with the Patriots: Assistant WR Tiquan Underwood

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PATRIOTS SCOUTING REPORT

There's been a big change with New England since the Week 5 matchup at Gillette Stadium, and that's the insertion of rookie third overall pick Drake Maye into the starting lineup. The Patriots still have a very flawed roster, both offensively and defensively, but the quarterback from North Carolina has shown enough to provide reason to be optimistic moving forward. The defense, long the Patriots' forte, remains an issue, even though there was a glimmer of hope a couple of weeks ago against the Chicago Bears — although maybe some of that was due to the Bears' offensive dysfunction.

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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN

This is kind of a similar story as last week against the Raiders, and it's simply that the Dolphins are much more talented. Sure, Maye has the potential to make things interesting, but the way Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami offense are performing of late, it's really difficult to envision New England being able to keep up on the scoreboard.

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THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE

Logic would seem to suggest the only way the Patriots can pull off the upset here would be for Maye to have a big game or for the Dolphins offense to get sloppy after a very clean performance against the Raiders. We also should mention the special teams, particularly in light of the issues the Dolphins had at Gillette Stadium in Week 5 (blocked punt, missed field goal attempt, bad snap on a field goal). The Dolphins don't need to be giving the Patriots anything for free.

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FINAL DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS PREDICTION

The Dolphins will go into this game favored by about a touchdown, which actually might be a tad conservative given the trajectory of both teams. The Dolphins have won two in a row and their offense is humming again, while the Patriots remain very much a rebuilding team. Under other circumstances, this could be viewed as a trap game for the Dolphins considering the looming Thanksgiving night game at Green Bay and the Dolphins' recent dominance of the Patriots, but they're not in a position to overlook any opponent. There's really no reason to suggest anything vastly different from what we saw against the Raiders, though Maye being a better quarterback than Gardner Minshew maybe keeps things a bit closer.

Final Score: Dolphins 30, Patriots 20