The Miami Dolphins have seen their franchise’s success plummet as the New England Patriots have established a two decade long stranglehold on the AFC East division. Much of the success from the Patriots simply comes from the inability of the Dolphins, Jets and Bills to handle divisional matchups with New England. The Patriots have owned these head to head matchups during the stretch of their dynasty.
With one exception. Tom Brady boasts a losing record in games played in Miami. That is, in itself, an incredible accomplishment for a Dolphins team that has faced so much change and turmoil over the course of Brady’s career.
Traveling to Foxboro to play the Patriots? That’s a different story.
The Dolphins are facing long odds of a win on Sunday in New England — mainly because it’s been over a decade since Miami last won in New England. That victory is one that will be hard to forget: it was the game in which the Dolphins broke out the Wildcat offense for the first time in 2008.
If you’re looking for a Dolphins win at New England in December? You’ll have to travel back even further — it has been nearly 20 years since Miami last knocked off the Patriots on the road in December.
That game was also a difficult one to forget. Miami defeated New England by a final score of 27-24 on December 24, 2000 — but not before the teams were pulled back onto the field 30 minutes after the game ended due to an officiating error with the game clock. The Patriots were permitted to run one additional untimed down down 3 points, but thankfully nothing came of the play and Miami was officially the AFC East division champions under former coach Dave Wannstedt.
The Dolphins will need to channel a little bit of magic to knock off a Patriots team looking to secure a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs on Sunday. It’s been quite a while since Miami has had that kind of fortune.
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