The Five Biggest Storylines for the Dolphins-Patriots Week 15 Matchup
The Miami Dolphins close out their home schedule Sunday when they face the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium in a huge game when it comes to their playoff hopes.
The Dolphins are 8-5 and coming off a 33-27 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, but still hold possession of the seventh spot in the AFC standings; the Patriots are on the brink of playoff elimination after their 24-6 loss against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 left them with a 6-7 record.
RELATED: The Updated Dolphins Playoff Scenarios
Here are the five biggest storylines for the game:
The Dolphins will be facing New England without their rushing leader (Myles Gaskin) and without their top five receiving yardage leaders (DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki, Jakeem Grant, Preston Williams, Gaskin). There was a lot of speculation throughout the week — and no doubt a lot of gamesmanship — regarding the status of Parker, Gesicki and Grant after they were injured against Kansas City with their absence not made official until Sunday morning.
Having to operate without so many missing pieces won't make it any easier for rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who already was going to have to deal with a Bill Belichick defense. New England has an 11-game winning streak against teams starting a rookie first-round pick at quarterback, and Tagovailoa will try to be the one to do what no one since Mark Sanchez has been able to.
The teams have both changed a lot since they faced each other at Gillette Stadium in Week 1, and the Dolphins hope something else that will change is their ability to stop Cam Newton in the running game. New England rushed for 217 yards in the opener and a repeat of that stat (or something close) would spell trouble for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins are 1.5-point favorites in this game, which might not seem like much considering the difference in records between the teams. But them merely being favored is pretty incredible when you consider it's the first time they've been in this role against the Patriots since their December 2013 matchup in Miami (which the Dolphins won 24-20). Taking it further, it's only the second time since 2003 the Dolphins are favored to beat New England. It's completely crazy, really, but then again this is 2020 and crazy things are happening all over the place.
5. Another December to remember?
The game Sunday will come on the 16-year anniversary of what probably was the greatest upset victory in Dolphins history when the 2004 team came in with a 2-11 record and defeated the 12-1 and defending and eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots, 29-28, in a Monday night game in Miami. That was the start of a nice run that has seen the Dolphins won six of their past seven December home games against New England, including the "Miracle of Miami" of two seasons ago.
