Revisiting the Memorable 2019 Finale, Even If It Won't Help the Dolphins Now

The 2019 season certainly was a strange one for the Miami Dolphins, but it ended on the highest note possible as they finally ended their long losing streak at Gillette Stadium.

As fate would have it, that's exactly where the Dolphins will begin their 2020 season.

Unfortunately for them, what happened then has no bearing on what will happen Sunday, a fact that hasn't escaped head coach Brian Flores.

"Last year was last year and this year is a totally different year," Flores said. "They’ve got different players. We have different players. We made changes to the coaching staff. They made a few changes to their coaching staff. So every year is different and our goal is to just prepare for this week.

"We’re not really thinking about what happened last year, and that last game was a totally different situation and two different teams. There were fans in the stadium. There’s so many differences from this year to last year on so many levels. We weren’t taking COVID tests every day last year either, so there’s differences. The schedules are different. The way we travel is going to be different.”

For the Dolphins, less than half of the 53 players on the active roster for that 2019 season finale are back in 2020. And the team has new offensive and defensive coordinators.

The Patriots have had some big changes, none bigger than Cam Newton replacing Tom Brady at quarterback.

As it turned out, that 27-24 Dolphins victory marked the final home game of Brady's Hall of Fame career (yes, we can safely predict he'll make it to Canton).

Dolphins fans no doubt remember that former Patriots defensive back Eric Rowe had a pick-six in that game, DeVante Parker had a huge performance against NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, Ryan Fitzpatrick had a rushing touchdown, and Fitzpatrick connected with tight end Mike Gesicki for the game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute.

The victory took away the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs from the Patriots, setting the stage for their first-round loss against Tennessee the following week, and gave the Dolphins a fifth win in their final nine games. And the best part is that it didn't cost them one spot in the draft order.

But that game actually didn't have meaning in terms of the playoffs for the Dolphins. This obviously is very different given that it will be the first game of the season.

While many of the names have changed, the Dolphins clearly would love a similar outcome.