AFC East: Previewing and predicting week 2 for the Miami Dolphins opponents

Sunday night football will pit the Miami Dolphins against the New England Patriots in Foxboro. The Jets and Bills will play other teams but the entire division will play on Sunday.

Starting with the Patriots and Dolphins, Miami enters the game 1-0 while the Patriots lost last week in a rather surprisingly close game at home against the Eagles.

Miami will be tasked with stopping the Patriots rushing attack that will set up the pass for Mac Jones. If the Dolphins can keep the Patriots offense in check, Miami's offense should be able to create enough plays to widen a lead.

The Patriots are not going to be a cake walk. They have a very good defense and and an adequate offense. Last week the Dolphins couldn't stop the run and gave up over 200 yards to the Chargers on the ground.

Miami will likely be without Jaelan Phillips who hurt is back in practice earlier this week and there is still doubt that Terron Armstead could also miss his 2nd game in a row.

Miami is going to have problems with the edge on defense without Phillips should he be out. Andrew Van Ginkel could be in line for play and Miami elevated Chase Winovich for the game as well.

Despite the injuries, on paper, the Dolphins are the better team but it will take a nearly perfect performance.

Prediction: Miami 28 - New England 24 - Part of me thinks this could be the other way around but at some point we have to put our faith in Mike McDaniel being able to adjust his game. This is a chess match between McD and Bill Belichick. So far, McDaniel hasn't lost to the Patriots with Tua starting.

Las Vegas Raiders at Buffalo Bills

This is a tale of two differently styled teams with both entering the game with a record that really isn't indicative of their ability. The Raiders won in week one but a 17-16 win over the Broncos wasn't exactly sending a message to the league. Meanwhile, the Bills should have walked away with a victory Monday night against the Jets without Aaron Rodgers. Instead, they lost on four Josh Allen turnovers.

The Raiders and Broncos are expected to challenge for the 3rd spot in the AFC West and so far, there hasn't been much to be joyful about in the Josh McDaniels era. The Bills on the other hand are expected to challenge for the AFC East title again if not win it outright but week one was a poor showing.

Prediction: Bills 34 - Raider 14 The Raiders traveling across the country and facing and angry Bills team isn't a good situation to be in.

New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys

This is an interesting game in the sense that we will get to see what kind of QB Zach Wilson thinks he might be. The Cowboys boast one of the best defenses in the NFL and this could get very ugly quickly for the Jets.

On the other hand, the Cowboys offense isn't anywhere near as good as some in the media expected and they will face a Jets team that isn't that far behind the Cowboys if at all. This could be and should be a defensive battle from start to finish.

Prediction: Cowboys 23 - Jets 10 - I don't see the Jets offense putting up much of a fight against a very good pass rush and coverage defense. Zach Wilson is not going to have a good game.