Pats Preview: Pats @ Dolphins
As the regular season comes to an end, the New England Patriots are in Miami to battle the Dolphins and take a shot at locking up the top spot in the AFC for the playoffs.
Here are some thoughts heading into the divisional battle:
Playing for something- Though they've already clinched a playoff spot and a first round bye, the Patriots have something to play for Sunday. A win would clinch the top spot in the AFC for New England and give the team the ever-important advantage of home field throughout the playoffs.
Missing Pieces- New England will be tasked with trying to lock up the number one seed with a limited crew on both sides of the ball, as the team has already ruled defensive stars Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower and offensive stars Julian Edelman and Sebastian Vollmer out for Sunday. Vollmer suffered an ankle injury in last week's loss to the Jets and is being held out for precautionary measures, though he should be good to go for the team's first playoff game. Edelman was a bit less likely to be ready for this week, due to the initial diagnosis after his surgery, though there was some thought that he'd be able to give it a go this week. He'll instead have to wait til the postseason to get back on the field. Hightower has been dealing with a knee injury since the loss to Denver in Week 12. He re-aggravated it in the second half of the team's win over Tennessee, two weeks ago, and has been limited ever since. His health is of extreme importance for this team, in the playoffs, as he plays a key role in stopping the run. The addition of a toe injury for Jones to the injury report is a bit alarming, though it could just be a precautionary measure. Anyways, be sure to see a bit more Jabaal Sheard on the field tomorrow.
Tennessee Game Plan- If things go well for New England on Sunday, the game should look similar to the team's win over the Tennessee Titans, two weeks ago. From the initial kick, the Pats had that game in hand and by halftime, it was over. Though they're undermanned heading into the game, the Pats should be able to roll past the 5-10 Dolphins, who have pretty much packed it in for the season. What the Pats should do, if things take that same time of turn like they did against the Titans, is they should rest key guys, once the game is pretty well in hand. I'm talking Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and pretty much anybody else of relative importance to the team's postseason success.
Prediction-All in all, the Patriots should be able to handle whatever it is that the Dolphins throw at them, Sunday. Even with the injuries and the potential use of multiple backups, New England should have plenty of answers. As long as cornerbacks Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan contain receiver Jarvis Landry, the Dolphins offense should be limited and struggle to score on the stingy New England defense. Again, think Week 15 against Tennessee. Pats-31, Dolphins-14