New England Patriots vs Dolphins: Belichick looks to reverse Miami woes
By John Hynes
In wake of the 2022 NFL season kickoff, the New England Patriots are just days away from their annual trip to Miami for their Week 1 matchup.
Despite usually outmatching the Dolphins, it has been all but fun in the Magic City for the Patriots in recent years, and head coach Bill Belichick surely wants to break that trend.
Heading into the season, New England Patriots has won just 3 of their last 10 matchups in Miami
Even in the Brady era, wins were frustratingly hard to come by in South Florida. Whether it was the 2018 ‘Miami Miracle’ or a loss in a shootout like last season, the Patriots always find a way to lose these games.
With a re-vamped Miami Dolphins team that many expect to outperform the Patriots in 2022 due to new additions such as Tyreek Hill, one might expect New England to meet the same fate as usual.
The Patriots opened as underdogs, but given where these teams are at going into the new season the South Beach tides could turn in New England’s favor, and with this roster Belichick should be set up nicely to start the season off 1-0.
In an attempt to get acclimated, the Patriots left for Miami a few days early, arriving on Tuesday ahead of their bout on Sunday. Whether or not this will play a factor is unknown, but it is noteworthy. Bill Belichick shed light on this decision in this week’s interview on WEEI sports radio.
"“Well, I think it will give us a good chance just to focus on getting ready for the opening game and to get acclimated to the conditions, whatever they end up being down there.”"
In the coaching aspect, the Patriots have the advantage as rookie head coach Mike McDaniels will go toe-to-toe with Belichick. The greatest of all time is certainly not the ideal matchup for a head coach’s debut, and Belichick should provide a ‘welcome to the NFL’ lesson for McDaniels.
The quarterback matchup should lean in New England’s favor as well with Mac Jones up against Tua Tagovailoa. Jones, who is coming off of a solid rookie campaign where he was selected to his first Pro Bowl, is poised for improvement in year two.
The career numbers of Jones and Tagovailoa to this point are fairly similar, but Jones is only four touchdowns and about 600 yards shy of Tua’s career marks in six less games played. These stats would certainly favor Jones heading into the matchup, and that does not include the jump Jones might be in position to make for year two.
Want your voice heard? Join the Chowder And Champions team!
Defensively, the New England Patriots can center their attention around Miami’s two star receivers in Hill and Jaylen Waddle (limited practice participant on Wednesday according to Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald). In 2021, the Dolphins finished with the third worst rushing offense in football, and this should key the Patriots’ game-plan around slowing the passing game.
If New England can focus on persistently rushing the quarterback and limiting throwing lanes for the young Tua, there shouldn’t be much else to worry about with Miami’s offense.
With the defensive-minded Brian Flores out as head coach, Miami could very well take a step back from years prior on this front. In 2021, they were mostly a middle-of-the-pack defense, finishing 16th in total points and 15th in total yards allowed.
Unless the Dolphins show drastic improvement on that side of the ball, the struggling Patriots offense comes into a good scenario for them to find their footing in.
Next. Patriots: 4 bold predictions for 2022. dark
While the New England Patriots are coming into Week 1 with concerns of their own, they match up well with the Dolphins, and should look to overcome the bad memories that have constantly surfaced in South Beach.