With a bye no longer remotely possible, what do I want to see in today's Patriots game? The biggest thing is most obviously no injuries.
OUTCOME- I'd still like to see the team win. With a win and an unlikely Buffalo loss, that would give us another AFC East Championship, and who doesn't like those? Although that would also give us a home game and we haven't been so good at home, I'll take my chances. The fact that we lost earlier in the season to the Dolphins and haven't done so well against them in recent years is another reason why I'd like to see a victory today. With Belichick chasing after some lofty all-time records (most wins and best winning percentage), each win matters.
CLEAN GAME- The team has been doing much better in regards to penalties during the past 2 games. In each game they've only had 3 calls go against them. Since one of the calls was intentional to give Jake Bailey some room to punt, it's really been more like 5 penalties over 2 games.
PUNTS- Should the Patriots not score points on every possession, I would like to see some uneventful punts from Bailey. Three blocks in one season is insane. Since he hasn't had a chance to return a punt in a few weeks, I'd like to see Gunner get a chance to run a few back. This season he is in 2nd place with an average of 12.04 yards per return. In front of him is Devin Duvernay of the Ravens with a 14.4 average. Both players have returned 25 punts this season. Fun fact alert, Duvernay is Kyler Murray's cousin. Gunner's career average is 12.7 yards over 64 returns. He needs 11 more returns to be considered amongst the all-time leaders (75 returns). The all-time leaders are George McAfee and Jack Christiansen with 12.8 yards per return.
PUNTS- Should the Patriots not score points on every possession, I would like to see some uneventful punts from Bailey. Three blocks in one season is insane. Since he hasn't had a chance to return a punt in a few weeks, I'd like to see Gunner get a chance to run a few back. This season he is in 2nd place with an average of 12.04 yards per return. In front of him is Devin Duvernay of the Ravens with a 14.4 average. Both players have returned 25 punts this season. Fun fact alert, Duvernay is Kyler Murray's cousin. Gunner's career average is 12.7 yards over 64 returns. He needs 11 more returns to be considered amongst the all-time leaders (75 returns). The all-time leaders are George McAfee and Jack Christiansen with 12.8 yards per return.
FUNCTIONING OFFENSE- Over the past few weeks the Dolphins have been one of the top defenses in several categories. Is it the teams they've been playing, or is the defense itself? Either way, I'd like to see the Patriots' offense look legit in today's contest. Here are some of the categories the Dolphins have been solid at:
- #1 sacks
- #1 red zone defense
- #1 total defense
- #1 yards per play
- #2 opponent passes rating
- #2 scoring defense
- #2 3rd down defense
- #3 passing defense
GET OFF THE FIELD- Whether it is 3rd down stops or 4th down stops, I'd like to see the Patriots turn 3rd and long into zero Miami points. While 3rd down stops have typically been great, teams are all about using all 4 downs this year. When going for 4th down conversions against the Patriots, opponents are successful just under 55% of the time. Although they have one of the best defenses in the league, they are middle of the pack (16th) in this category.
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