New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins Prediction & Betting Tips - NFL

Prediction published on 16/09/2023, 16:05  by Joseph King | Modified on 16/09/2023 at 16:08 in NFL Prediction

Sunday Night Football in the NFL sees this week two AFC East clash as the 1-0 Miami Dolphins take on the 0-1 New England Patriots. The Dolphins got off to a winning start in the 2023/24 NFL season thanks to a wild 36-34 shootout victory over the Chargers. They’ll now make the trip to Gillette Stadium for their second consecutive away game against a familiar foe. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa picked up where he left off last season with an impressive  stat line of 466 yards and three touchdowns in the week one win. The former first pick in the draft is in rare territory as he currently possesses a perfect 4-0 record against Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The Dolphins didn’t have much luck at this stadium last season as they suffered a 23-21 loss. However, they remained competitive in that outing despite not having Tua under center. They’ll come into this trip to Foxborough high in confidence after their high points total in the previous game.

The Patriots will be feeling hard-done not to have walked away with a win in their season opener against Philadelphia. New England played extremely well as home underdogs and easily could have won that game on another day. However, as things stand they’re 0-1 to start the year after a 25-20 loss. It represents the third consecutive season that the Patriots have lost the first game of the campaign. The previous two seasons saw the Pats bounce back with a win in week two following their week one loss. They’ll have to pull off the feat as underdogs as the books have Belichick’s men catching +2.5 points on their home soil. New England's pass-rush pair of Josh Uche and Matthew Judon will be key to the hosts chances at victory here. If they can provide consistent pressure on Tua and get the former Alabama man out of his rhythm, the Pats will have a good shot.