Three Bold Predictions for the Miami Dolphins Against New England

The 1-5 Miami Dolphins take on the 4-3 New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon. Miami, coming off a win against the Jets, hopes to grab a second straight victory against a divisional opponent. Here are some bold predictions for this Week 8 matchup, along with some important stats regarding Miami and New England.

THREE BOLD PREDICTIONS

Dolphins Are Held Under 100 Yards Rushing

The Dolphins’ rushing attack is probably the team's strength. Their offensive line has adapted well to Bobby Slowik’s power designs, and Ollie Gordon II has flashed in the absence of De’Von Achane.

The Patriots front has settled in, though. Milton Williams leads a group that has only allowed 100+ yards on the ground in two of New England's first seven games.

Miami’s run game wins off of displacement; using their massive offensive linemen to move bodies and get downhill in a hurry. However, this is New England’s biggest strength up front. Their rush defense ranks first in the NFL in yards before contact per carry. If Kadyn Proctor misses this game with a concussion, as expected, and Miami can’t generate that same level of push, Gordon could be forced to create in the backfield, which isn’t his strong suit.

Dolphins’ Defense Intercepts Drake Maye

Through seven weeks, nobody in the NFL has thrown more interceptions than Drake Maye. Much of this can be attributed to his aggression, as he’s third in the NFL in Air Yards per Attempt (Malik Willis ranks first).

Miami’s defense hopes to bait quarterbacks into the deep throws that Maye takes often. Jeff Hafley has described aiming for a conservative back end, and no team has seen fewer deep attempts against them than Miami.

If Maye, who ranks second in deep throws attempted, becomes frustrated by Miami’s desire to keep passes in front of them, there will be opportunities to drive on the football, just like rookie Michael Taaffe did in Week 7 against the Jets. I’m predicting a late, aggressive throw by Maye that gets picked off by one of Miami’s young defensive backs.

Caleb Douglas Records 100+ Receiving Yards

The Caleb Douglas hype train is hard to stop. In his third career game, he scored two touchdowns, including a savvy play in the fourth quarter where he noticed a cornerback blitz, adjusted his route, and ran by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for 63 yards.

That veteran-like understanding of coverages and chemistry with Malik Willis is something I’m hanging my hat on with this prediction. The Patriots rank third in blitz rate and are in the top half of the NFL in pressures. If Willis has to get the ball out quickly, reliability is going to be a massive factor, and Douglas has shown he can, in a limited sample, be a dependable option.

The Patriots have allowed a receiver to eclipse 100 yards in five of their first seven games. Some of this can be attributed to the up-and-down health of star cornerback Christian Gonzalez, but even with him in the lineup, they’ve allowed No. 1 options to feast. Miami may have to play from a negative game script, and if they have to go pass-heavy, I think Douglas is in for plenty of targets.

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