The Miami Dolphins may be a one-win team, but they enter Week 8 with some momentum as they prepare to host the New England Patriots. This momentum is a concern for Mike Vrabel's squad.

This division matchup may not hog the airwaves on Sunday, but we shouldn't discount it. The Patriots do have areas of the field and situations to lock down to keep the 1-5 last-place Dolphins in check. One of those is containing quarterback Malik Willis and his ability to beat up your defense in a couple of different ways.

Willis comes off a three-touchdown performance against the Jets last week and is second in the league in QB rushing yards with 223 yards. The Patriots need to keep his confidence low in a road game where they've made costly mistakes in the past.

Willis led the NFL in EPA per dropbacks (+0.38) during his time with the Green Bay Packers in 2024 and 2025 (minimum 100 dropbacks). These stats helped him land a contract with the Dolphins.

When the play breaks down, Willis has a ton of strength and is incredibly dangerous. He averages 6.37 yards per carry on 35 rushes this season. If the Patriots have the Dolphins on a mid-yardage third down, they may need to get ready for something like this.

Look for Patriots linebackers like Christian Elliss and Robert Spillane to monitor Willis' movement if he ditches the script and runs for it to keep drives alive.

The Tennessee Titans drafted Willis in 2022, while Vrabel was still head coach. Under Vrabel, he started in three games. After the 2023 season, the Titans traded Willis to the Packers, and the team fired Vrabel.

Vrabel is notoriously disciplined at keeping rushing QBs in the pocket, forcing them to beat his defense with post-snap processing rather than quick feet.

Like any quarterback, Willis has a default internal clock and a way to control the chaos around him; Vrabel has seen what makes the former Titan quarterback tick, and he'll know how to use it against him.

Look for players like Elijah Ponder, Gabe Jacas, and Dre'Mont Jones to make an impact. Not just because of their success in the past few weeks, but because they can beat Willis' snap-to-throw time frame.

Willis is currently calculated to hold the ball in the pocket for an average of 3.26 seconds. Nearly a full second longer than Drake Maye.

However, this ability has not necessarily meant his offensive line has held up against a pass rush. Willis has been sacked 16 times in six games, and the Patriots' defense comes in hungry to bounce back from a rough night in Chicago last week.

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