- 2019- lost 27-24
- 2018- lost 34-33 (Gronk as safety)
- 2017- lost 27-20
- 2016- didn't play in December- Patriots won 35-14 on 1/1 (scorched earth tour)
- 2015- didn't play in December- Patriots lost 20-10 on 1/3
PUNTS AND RETURNS- Lately the best two players on the Patriots have been Jake Bailey and Gunner Olszewski. The Dolphins might not be as formidable in the punting and punt return game lately, but they can hold their own. Matt Haack has had 40% of his punts inside the 20 to Bailey's 57.5%. Returning punts for the Dolphins is Jakeem Grant. Grant has 5 career returns (3 punt & 2 kickoff) for scores and leads the NFL with 323 punt return yards. Like Gunner, Grant has taken a punt in for a touchdown this season. When it comes to yards per punt return, Gunner is leading the NFL with an average of 20.6, Grant is two spots behind with and 11.5 average. Grant is currently nursing a hamstring issue and may not play.
PENALTIES- That's the one thing the Patriots are still league leaders with. Miami isn't too shabby as they are 3rd in penalties, 2nd in penalty yards, and 3rd with the pre-snap variety. As usual, the Patriots are numero uno in all 3 of those categories.
INTERCEPTIONS AND RESPECT- Last time the Patriots face the Dolphins, they had 3 interceptions. Of course, there was a different quarterback at the helm. In that game, JC Jackson got his first of 7 interceptions. Jackson is currently in 2nd place with his 7 interceptions. Leading the NFL is Miami cornerback Xavier Howard with 9 picks. The reason I bring up respect is because whoever is in charge of making the Dolphins game release completely disregarded JC Jackson when putting together the statistical leaders chart. (see below)
FLOATING PHINS- The Dolphins have a lot of their key offensive players nursing injuries at the moment. Mike Gesicki has a shoulder injury and might not be able to play. If he does, he'll likely be wearing a big ole shoulder brace. Leading receiver, DeVante Parker is a maybe with a hamstring injury. Special teams, jack of all trades, wide receiver, Jakeem Grant also has a bad hammy. Leading rusher Myles Gaskin is officially out (covid) and his rookie backup, Salvon Ahmed has a bad shoulder. Put all of that together with a rookie quarterback playing against Bill Belichick, and it's the Patriots game to lose.