Dolphins fans should be mad if Miami beats the Patriots

The Miami Dolphins are big underdogs against the Patriots this week in Foxboro, Ma and if they win, fans have every right to be mad.

Miami will face the Patriots with their 3rd string quarterback basically. Matt Moore gets the start over a concussed Jay Cutler. They are 17.5 point underdogs at last look and are playing horribly on both sides of the ball.

The Patriots lead the AFC with an 8-2 record tied with the Steelers who haven’t looked like much this year despite their record. The conference is once again the Patriots to lose. If Miami goes into Patriot country and wins, then the Dolphins need to answer some questions.

If Miami wins on Sunday it means a few things. One, the Dolphins were able to stop Tom Brady and his offense. It means they kept Rob Gronkowski from beating them, it means they kept the Patriots run game in check, and it means they beat Tom Brady.

The Dolphins will have gotten pressure on Brady and forced him to make bad throws. It means the defense stepped up when they needed to make a play and then made the play.

It also means that the Dolphins will likely have to win the turnover battle as well as field position. It means that the special teams unit played well. It means the Dolphins offense under Matt Moore put points on the board and outscored the Patriots on their home field.

It means…that Miami hasn’t played up to their potential all season long. And that is why fans should be irate. Beating the Patriots is not an easy task and that is when the Dolphins are playing at their best. Miami is not playing at their best and haven’t all season long. Even when they win.

Fans should take note of this. If it’s a victory they can point to Cutler as the problem. They can point to a myriad of issues that have plagued the team. Offensive penalties that have killed drives and defensive penalties that have extended them for the opposing team.

What it comes down to is that Miami fans expected a better season than what they got and a win on Sunday will prove that this team was never playing at a competitive level all season which we all know they haven’t. But it also means they should have been.

Miami is a long shot t win this game and the fact they play the Patriots twice in the next three weeks doesn’t bode well for them turning the season around late and making a last-minute push to the post-season. The thing is they can. This team has the talent to beat any other NFL team on a football field. They just don’t play like they have talent.

More from Phin Phanatic

• Tua Tagovailoa practicing with teammates is everything a leader does
• 4 offensive tackles Miami Dolphins could draft at 51
• Miami Dolphins don’t need CB help but these 5 could be available at 51
• 4 players that could replace Wilkins if Miami Dolphins don’t re-sign him
• Miami Dolphins have a starting point with Wilkins after Simmons deal

Cameron Wake has one sack in the past month, that was last weeks “safety-no-safety”. Andre Branch has been lost most of the year and rookie Charles Harris has one sack all season. The list goes on and on with this teams 2017 season.

A win in Foxboro could be what the team needs to take a big step towards making a push for the final playoff spot, they are one game back of the Ravens for the sixth seed albeit tied with other teams. They are tied with the Bills and Chargers for that one game out position. They own head to head against the Chargers and face the Bills twice in the final three weeks.

If they win out and the Ravens drop a couple of games, Miami has a real shot at the post-season. They have to win on Sunday however and that will not happen even if they play their best game all season. They have to play the best game of their careers. And then maybe.

A Dolphins win will have fans shaking their heads with questions about why they couldn’t play like that all season because as fans have come to find out, a win on Sunday could just as easily mean a loss next week to Denver. There has been no consistency all season with this team.

So yes, fans will most assuredly be screaming loudly if Miami pulls off what would be one of the biggest upsets of the NFL season but they should also be asking why the team hadn’t played all year with that intensity.