Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots: Is Bill Belichick’s Side on the Brink of Elimination?

The era that the Patriots never hoped for has arrived. With the 2023 NFL season underway, some teams don’t appear to have a bright future this time. Surprisingly, Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots is also one such team.

Teams like the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals, are also on the list of terrible teams this season. Patriots fans never thought of such a disaster in a season, particularly when the team has arguably one of the strongest coaches of the league. Belichick’s team sits at the bottom of the AFC East this season. So, the question is, will they be able to make it to the playoffs?

The Patriots are bringing up the rear!

The Patriots are sitting at the bottom of the AFC East with 2-5. During this season, they have only won against the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. Their worst game was with the New Orleans Saints in which Belichick’s team got whitewashed with 0-34. Now, for Week 8, the team is heading towards Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, to face off against the Miami Dolphins. This game will be important to win for the Foxborough team. The Pats won a game over the Bills last weekend after losing three back-to-back matchups. If they win this weekend’s game over the Dolphins, they will create a winning streak, something that they haven’t done this season.

However, the team continued to make winning streaks last season, and earlier too. But there is one thing to keep in mind: this game will be tough for the Patriots to win. As the Dolphins defeated the Patriots with a lot of points in their home ground three times. Furthermore, this time when the two teams met, the Fins defeated the Pats 24-17. Apart from that, if Belichick’s team wins this game, Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline would get more interesting. Belichick would be able to pry Davante Adams out of Las Vegas or Jerry Jeudy out of Denver.

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Hence, this game will determine a lot about the season’s second half, especially whether the Patriots will stay? Since they are on the brink of elimination. As of now, to make it to the playoffs, it appears that the Patriots reportedly have just a 4 percent probability. And to turn the tables around, Pats will have to work for a miracle, and win the upcoming games.

Will the Patriots win over the Dolphins?

After the Patriots got a terrible defeat by the Cowboys and Saints with a combined score of 72-3 this season, Bill Belichick admitted his mistake and took a vow to “start all over.” However, as the weeks passed, no sign of improvement in the winning account was noticed, despite one win with the Jets. Pats last win over the Bills has given them a ray of hope and motivation to continue, so that they can have a winning streak. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are coming after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 31-17. Despite the loss, they are sitting at the top of the AFC East with 5-2. What’s more, the Dolphins have lost against two top sides, i.e. when facing off the Eagles and Bills. They have only made it big against lesser teams, including the Panthers, Giants, and Broncos.

When comparing head to head at the home turf, New England has the upper hand. However, they are just 17-41 in games played against Dolphins in Miami. Interestingly, Belichick’s team’s last win at Hard Rock Stadium was in September 2019 when they whitewashed the Fins 42-0. After that, they lost three consecutive matchups at Hard Rock Stadium, 17-0 (2021 regular season finale), 17-3 (2022 opener), and 17-0 (Week 2, 2023), all with a massive point difference. Furthermore, in the NFL history, Fins have a 61-55 record over Pats.

Besides these factors, it’s important to consider the Dolphins’ health list. After a loss to Philly, the team is dealing with injuries to 11 players. In the last matchup, Philly focused on the Fins’ defensive end and exploited that weakness. To win a matchup against the Fins, the Pats would also follow this approach to slow down quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his team. And, if they lose this one, Bill Belichick’s team will dent their chances of surviving in the NFL 2023 season.

As far as the Dolphins are concerned, they will be approaching this game with a resurgent rushing attack at their home ground. Hence, the competition will be neck and neck this time for both the AFC East group teams.

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