NFL Week 15: Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots preview

Patriots QB Tom Brady hopes to avenge a Week 1 loss to the Dolphins by beating them and clinching the AFC East title.

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The New England Patriots host the Miami Dolphins in a game with major playoff implications in Week 15 of the NFL season.

Since the year 2000, the Dolphins and Patriots have combined for 13 AFC East division titles: 2 for Miami, and 11 for New England.  But Miami’s hopes of winning their third in the last 15 years will likely take a massive hit if they lose to the Patriots this week. With games still to play against Buffalo and New York, they could be eliminated from playoff contention next week if enough teams pull ahead of them.  The Dolphins have lost three of their last five and have struggled on the road these last few weeks. But if the Dolphins can utilize the same strategy that let them get the better of the Patriots in Week 1: a heavy dose of ground attack, then the Dolphins have a shot at pulling the upset.

For the Patriots, this season like each of the last five has been all business: play efficient football, force turnovers, score points, win, and repeat. Tom Brady is playing as well now as he did when he won the league MVP award in 2010, but the defense has been the saving grace of the team this year. CB Darrelle Revis is playing at his usual All-Pro level and has been an even better corner than Aqib Talib was back when they went to the AFC Championship game last year.

Prediction: Patriots – Nobody, and that’s nobody, beats Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichik at home, and some of the best offenses in football have failed to come within even 20 points of doing so.  The only way the Dolphins win is with a defense that is better than what the Patriots put out in Foxborough.  But that’s not going to happen this week.