South Beach has not been kind to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
In their last five games in Miami, the Patriots have gone 1-4. Yes, you read that correctly.
For whatever reason, the Patriots do not seem to play up to standards down there. Could heat be a factor? Certainly. However, losing on a consistent basis to a mediocre team at best is unacceptable, especially with playoff seeding implications on the line.
The struggles have not been a recent trend either, as the Patriots have gone 7-9 in Miami with Brady under center. When you lose to the likes of Joey Harrington, an old and washed up Jay Cutler, Chad Henne, AJ Feeley, Jay Fielder (twice) and Ryan Tannehill (three), there is cause for concern.
The Dolphins have had success at home this season, as they are 5-1.
Their defense will be without its best player in cornerback Xavien Howard, who intercepted Brady twice last season on Monday Night Football in Miami. The Patriots will exploit Howard’s absence and will look to dink-and-dunk to tire out the defense. One person the offensive line always has to be wary of is Cameron Wake. In 18 career games against New England, Wake has 10.5 sacks. Another player to look out for is linebacker Kiko Alonso, who is never afraid of laying questionable hits on opponents.
Rob Gronkowski did not have a great showing last week, and with the playoffs coming up it will be important to try and get the former All-Pro back up to speed. The running game received a boost in depth of sorts as Rex Burkhead returned to action. With a week under his belt to try and get re-acclimated to the offense, look for him to have a bigger impact to try and give Sony Michel and James White rest at times.
One thing to monitor on the defense is the status of Stephon Gilmore, who is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe tweeted out yesterday that Gilmore made the trip with the team, so it more than likely will be a game-time decision. The unit played its best game of the season last week against the Minnesota Vikings, and it will be interesting to see if they can carry the momentum into today’s contest.
New England cannot afford to look ahead at next week’s premier match up against the Pittsburgh Steelers and take care of business today.
With a victory, the Patriots can clinch the AFC East for the tenth straight year.
