Why They Win: Patriots Beat Dolphins?

There's a major opportunity for the New England Patriots to get back in the AFC East race. How can they pull it off?

It might get late early for the New England Patriots.

The AFC East is relatively open following the medical developments in New York, but the Patriots could get lost in the crowd because moral victories don't count in the win columns. After keeping pace with the defending Super Bowl runner-up Philadelphia Eagles on kickoff weekend, a prime time opportunity to get back in the swing of things arrives on Sunday night when they face the Miami Dolphins. 

Miami prevailed in one of the most thrilling games of Week 1, topping the Los Angeles Chargers 36-34 in a game that featured 466 aerial yards from Tua Tagovailoa. A good number of those yards went to Tyreek Hill, who has provided no shortage of bulletin board material for Sunday's divisional tilt. 

After last week's personal triumph, one that kept the Eagles far more than they expected to handle, the Patriots will look to get back on track in divisional competition: while they were able to split last season's set with Miami and earn two more against the New York Jets last season, a sweep at the hands of the Buffalo Bills killed their playoff chances. 

What: Miami Dolphins (1-0) @ New England Patriots (0-1)
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
When: 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Who's Won: Miami leads 60-55 (last: 23-21 NE, 1/2023)
Who's Favored: MIA -2.5

Feed Zeke (and Steve)

It's of little consolation to those who gathered at SoFi Stadium last week, but their two-point shortcoming provided plenty of ways to get through their strong-on-paper defense. Headlines centered on their aerial antics but the Chargers enjoyed 208 yards on the ground from Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley before fate ruined their kickoff weekend. Mac Jones undoubtedly took steps forward but the Patriots' most consistent offensive assets, for the time being, remain their rushers Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott. If they can find the holes the same way Ekeler and Kelley did, they can grind it out and keep the ball away from Tagovailoa and the high-flying passing group.

All That for Matt

From the get-go, many expected the Patriots defense to keep them in games. They got some assistance from the offense, but they'll need the pass rush paced by Matthew Judon to play up to its reputation to neutralize the threats that Tagovailoa and Raheem Mostert represent. The latter has proven himself well capable of earning hard-fought yardage in the middle, putting Christian Barmoere and former Dolphin Devon Godchaux on watch in the middle. New England's run defense was no match for Philadelphia's "Tush Push" (who has?) but they allowed no rushes beyond 16 yards in the opener. Last season, Miami averaged 77 yards in the two contests using Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Chase Edmonds. 

Kendrick Bourne is an absolute playmaker. pic.twitter.com/CN9ZjoFuCA

— Tim Crowley (@tcrowley37) September 10, 2023

Diversify Your Assets

Though Jalen Ramsey is out, the Dolphins still have a strong secondary paced by Xavien Howard and assisted by Jevon Holland and Cam Smith along with imported newcomers like DeShon Elliott. The Patriots have an equally diverse portfolio at receiver, where players are still trying to find themselves but there are signs of brilliance forming with Kendrick Bourne quickly establishing himself as Mac Jones' "go-to guy" and rookies like Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglast getting big snaps early on. A Miami secondary likewise trying to find a perfect rhythm could fall victim to a group finding new momentum under a new coordinator.