New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Week 8 Preview: Another AFC East Upset Looming?
The New England Patriots fly south in Week 8 to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium. Fresh off an AFC East upset of the Buffalo Bills, can the Patriots conquer another divisional foe in the Dolphins?
The Patriots prevailed at home vs. the Buffalo Bills last Sunday. With 12 seconds left in the game, quarterback Mac Jones connected with tight end Mike Gesicki on a 1-yard touchdown pass to win, 29-25. Jones had arguably his best game in the NFL, completing 25 of 30 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns in coach Bill Belichick's 300th regular-season career win.
Miami is coming off its worst rushing performance of the season in a 31-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Dolphins still lead the league with 162.3 rushing yards per game and an impressive 6.3 yards per carry. Through the air, Miami is even more dangerous. Receiver Tyreek Hill is off to a historic start with 53 catches, 902 yards and nine touchdowns.
Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Jones were teammates at Alabama. When Tagovailoa suffered an injury in 2019, Jones took over and led the Crimson Tide to a Citrus Bowl victory.
The two Bama quarterbacks' offenses are very different. The Dolphins are the NFL's highest-scoring offense at 34.3 points per game and the Patriots rank second-to-last with only 14.2 points per game. Tagovailoa (5-0) has never lost to the Patriots.
New England looks to improve its running game. Neither Rhamondre Stevenson (3.8 yards per carry) nor Ezekiel Elliott (2.8) averaged four yards per carry against the Bills. With a combined 20 carries, neither reached 35 yards rushing.
FLASHBACK: These two teams met in September and the Patriots lost to Miami at Gillette Stadium, 24-17.
RECORDS: New England Patriots (2-5) at Miami Dolphins (5-2)
ODDS: New England is a 9.5-point underdog vs. the Dolphins
GAME TIME: Sunday, October 29, 2023 at 1 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Hard Rock Stadium - Miami, Florida
TV/RADIO: CBS / WBZ, 98.5 FM THE SPORTS HUB
THE FINAL WORD: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Jones:
“The narrative can change so quickly in this league. It’s overreaction Mondays every single week,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show. “Look at what’s going on in New England. ‘Bill’s gonna be out’ and ‘Mac is the problem’ and then Mac goes out and balls out, I think he was 25 of 31, played incredible, led them on a last-second drive and now it’s like, ‘Mac was never the problem!’ You have to be able to laugh at some of this (expletive) because it’s so ridiculous."
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