The New England Patriots’ model for success is pretty clear; and it is one that the Dolphins experienced first hand with their Week 1 loss in Foxborough. The Patriots are constructed to play from the lead — they’re effective playing swarming defense and running the football. And run the ball the Patriots did against Miami the first time around; logging 217 yards rushing and forcing three turnovers against the Dolphins in a 21-11 Patriots win.
Miami can flip the script this weekend, but they’ll need a fast start to get the Patriots out of their game plan. If Miami is able to get early points, it will be a golden opportunity for Miami to squeeze the life out of the game; the Patriots are not a team constructed to come from behind in the way that the Kansas City Chiefs are. And, of course, after watching Kansas City erase a 10-0 deficit against Miami in the blink of an eye with 30 unanswered points before Miami mounted a late comeback, the Dolphins will be eager and optimistic to play with a lead once again and hold it this time.
The Patriots offense, regardless of wins and losses, has been pretty abysmal over the course of the past month. Their yardage and point totals in the last month indicate not a lot of success has been found in the heart of the Patriots season:
- 308 yards & 23 points (win over Baltimore)
- 435 yards & 20 points (loss to Houston)
- 179 yards & 20 points (win over Arizona)
- 291 yards & 45 points (win over Chargers)
- 220 yards & 3 points (loss to Rams)
Two of the Patriots’ touchdowns over that 5 game stretch came via special teams on a punt return and a blocked field goal — meaning the Patriots have logged just 11 offensive touchdowns in their last 5 games (Miami has 13) and is averaging 286.6 yards of offense per game in the last month. Given Miami’s successes in the heart of this season, the team should be optimistic that extending their streak of turnovers and creating an early lead can be the formula they need to claim victory in Week 15.