Undefeated

By Mike Rifkin

The Miami Dolphins opened up the AFC East portion of their schedule Sunday night with a 24-17 over the New England Patriots in Foxborough. The Dolphins have won four last five meetings over their division rivals. Tua Tagovailoa improved his record to 5-0 over Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Tua is now one of four quarterbacks to be 5-0 or better against a Super Bowl-winning head coach, joining Russell Wilson (vs. Doug Pederson), Peyton Manning (vs. Tom Coughlin), and Chris Chandler (vs. Mike Ditka).

Tua was 21-30 for 249 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Tua did a great job taking what Belichick and the Pats defense gave him. The Patriots wanted to take away the Dolphin deep ball, and they did that. Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill combined for nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. While the Patriot defense successfully took away the deep ball, the Dolphins adjusted by running the football. As a team, the Dolphins averaged 4.8 yards per carry, and Raheem Mostert had his best game as a Dolphin with 18 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 43-yard run in the fourth quarter. Mostert averaged 6.7 yards per carry. 

On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins’ defense was gashed against the Chargers for over 200 yards rushing, limiting the Patriots to 88 yards rushing. The Dolphins’ defense had four sacks of Mac Jones without their best pass rusher, Jaelan Phillips, who was out with a back injury. Andrew Van Ginkel had a big game with six tackles, a pass breakup, one sack, and three hits on Mac Jones. Bradley Chubb and Christian Wilkins had seven tackles and a sack each. 

This game could have been a complete blowout, but the Dolphins allowed New England to hang around. Mac Jones was 31-42 for 231 yards with a touchdown and an interception. I don’t believe the Patriots have the talent on the outside to throw the ball 40-plus times a game. They need to establish Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott early in the games. They did utilize their tight ends. Former Dolphin Mike Gesicki and Hunter Henry combined for 11 catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. 

The Dolphins will look to go 3-0 when they have their home opener against the Denver Broncos, while the Patriots will look for their first win against division rival Jets.