By Hal Bent
The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins prepare to face off in the heat of southern Florida Sunday afternoon while New England braces for the first significant snowstorm of the season. This matchup of the top two teams in the AFC East was expected to be a battle for the AFC division title at the beginning of the season with both teams jumping out to 3-0 records. However, the Dolphins lost their next four contests and have been struggling to stay at or above a .500 record since.
Miami head coach Joe Philbin has the Dolphins at 2-0 in the crucial month of December to keep pace with New England in the AFC East and most importantly keep their playoff hopes alive. Miami has beaten Wild Card contenders the New York Jets (6-7) and Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8) in back-to-back weeks this month. Miami has the same record as the Baltimore Ravens (7-6), who hold the final Wild Card spot currently in the AFC due to their head-to-head tiebreaker against Miami.
Earlier this season, the Patriots and Dolphins went head-to-head in Foxboro, MA in week eight of the NFL season. In that matchup, in what has become a familiar refrain for New England this season, the opposition led 17-3 at halftime. New England quarterback Tom Brady was held to just 6 of 8 for 25 yards passing in the first half while the Dolphins rushed for over 100 yards in the first half with a balanced attack. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the Patriots righted the ship and outscored Miami 24-0 in second half to win the game 27-17.
This week the Miami Dolphins placed starting cornerback Dimitri Patterson on season-ending injured reserve. Patterson was injured earlier in the season and returned to the lineup in week eight against New England. He was a large part of the Dolphins defense which held Tom Brady to 116 yards passing. In fact, Patterson intercepted Brady on the first drive of the game for New England....click here for much more: http://cover32.com/patriots/2013/12/15/patriots-looking-to-squish-the-fish-in-miami/
Comments