Week 1 was bad for the Miami Dolphins. Actually, it was worse than that. Losing to the Indianapolis Colts 33-8, the offseason optimism left the fan base as fast as Miami’s skill players run. However, it was just one game — an embarrassing one — fans and media members argued it’s time for the franchise to hit the reset button.
Everyone knows narratives are fickle in sports, though. All it takes is one bad performance for the sky to be falling, and a good outing can piece the sky back together just as quickly. That’s exactly what the Dolphins will try to do in Week 2.
Fortunately, Miami has the perfect team to help with that, hosting the New England Patriots. The Patriots could be just what the Dolphins need to get right, as they’ve had a lot of success against New England in recent years.
With Tua Tagovailoa under center, Miami has never lost to the Patriots, and the Dolphins need that to continue on Sunday.
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa has never lost to the New England Patriots ahead of Week 2 matchup
Tagovailoa has been at the center of the criticism surrounding Miami, with some fans arguing he isn’t the answer at quarterback.
That’s typically the kind of chatter that emerges after a three-turnover performance in a blowout loss. Tagovailoa can temporarily halt those discussions if he plays well against New England like he always does.
In seven career games against the Patriots, Tagovailoa is a perfect 7-0. In those seven wins, he has completed 69 percent of his passes for 230.9 passing yards a game. He has also thrown for 11 touchdowns against New England, to just four interceptions, and rushed for three additional touchdowns.
The Patriots haven’t given him many problems throughout his career, and Miami really needs that to be the case on Sunday as well.
New England is under new leadership with Mike Vrabel as head coach, and Vrabel was 2-0 against the Tagovailoa-led Dolphins while he was head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
However, the Patriots aren’t as talented as those Tennessee teams were, so it’ll be interesting to see what factor Vrabel will play in this equation.