The Miami Dolphins will take on the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The game will kickoff at 1:00 PM. ET.
The Tom Brady-less Patriots are in week two of his four-week suspension. In week one, the Patriots, led by Jimmy Garoppollo, pulled off the huge upset in Arizona. Going into the opening week, the Patriots were heavy road underdogs. No one knew what to expect from Garoppollo against an Arizona team that’s a trendy Super Bowl Pick. How was Garoppollo? In his first career start, Garoppollo passed for 264 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over. The Patriots will need him to continue to get the ball out quickly against a formidable Dolphins’ defensive front.
When the 2016 schedule came out and had the Dolphins playing the Seahawks in Seattle, it seemed safe to assume that the Dolphins didn’t have a chance. Not so fast. The Dolphins’ defense frustrated Wilson and the Seahawks all afternoon. The Dolphins’ secondary played tremendously, but it wasn’t enough to stop a last-minute score by Wilson’s favorite target, Doug Baldwin. The Dolphins don’t want to start the season 0-2 and will need to find away to close out what could be another close road game.
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Against the Cardinals, White caught five passes for 40 yards
In the offseason, the Dolphins signed Arian Foster after his release from the Texans. With the Texans, Foster was a tremendous talent, but he struggled to avoid injury. Foster’s biggest achievement in week one was avoiding injury. If he can stay healthy, he will have an impact on the Dolphins offense.
Against the Seahawks, Foster rushed for 38 yards on 13 carries. Not a great performance. Where he was great was in the passing game. He caught three passes for 62 yards and led all Miami receivers in that category. As a team, the Dolphins only rushed for 64 yards on 20 carries. Part of that total is due to game plan. Nevertheless, the Dolphins should show concern if their running game continues to struggle.
The Patriots’ defense was a big reason for their week one upset. The Patriots have quietly assembled a top two or three secondary, behind only the Broncos. Dolphins quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, completed 16 of 29 passes for 186 yards. That’s an average of 6.4 yards per completion. The Patriots’ defense is elite and it’s secondary will look to neutralize the Dolphins’ number one receiver, Jarvis Landry. Against the Seahawks, Landry had seven receptions on 10 targets. Landry lines up in the slot and will most likely draw Justine Coleman in coverage. Coleman had two passes defended in week one.
Patriots Vs Dolphins Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Patriots favored to win the game by 6.5 points. The over/under on total points scored is 41.5. You can read our full BetOnline review here.
My Prediction
The Dolphins got a rough draw starting the season with two road games against Super Bowl contenders. It’s hard to imagine that the Dolphins will go into Foxborough and win where they haven’t in quite a long time. The last time the Dolphins and Patriots met was in Miami in week 17 of last year. That loss cost the Patriots the number one seed and forced them to travel to Denver for the AFC Championship game (where they eventually lost). The Patriots should have all the motivation they need in their second Brady-less game of the year to cover the spread.
Play: Patriots -6.5 @ BetOnline.ag
Miami Dolphins • New England Patriots • NFL Betting • NFL Week 2