Patriots vs. Dolphins: New England wins AFC East with victory in Miami

Ultimately, it was Miami’s miscues that led to the loss, including four fumbles and eight penalties that cost the Dolphins 92 yards. While only one of the four fumbles ended up as a turnover to the Patriots, it proved to be the difference in the game.

Kevin Nogle of SB Nation’s Miami Dolphins blog, The Phinsider, cited the opening drive that proved to be a sign of things to come for the Dolphins.

Hartline bounced back from a two-catch, 17-yard performance in Week 12 to record his highest yardage total since Week 9. He failed to record a touchdown catch for a seventh-straight game, however.

Fantasy Impact: Hartline hasn’t come close to performing like fantasy owners hoped he would after his monster 253-yard performance in Week 4. He has been a decent WR3 at times, but not consistently enough to recommend him as a regular starting option.

Bush has now been held without a touchdown in five of his last seven games played. He has had double-digit carries in three straight games now, however.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

Fantasy Impact: Julian Edelman was marked active despite a concussion, and seemed to have a shot at earning a lot of targets based on his last two outings. He had just one reception off three targets, however, as Brady locked on to Welker and Hernandez.

If you own Welker in a PPR league, he is a weekly must-start at this point. Even in standard formats, he is a solid player to stick in the WR2 slot.

Ridley has had at least 13 carries in every game he has played this season. He has now gone five straight games with a rushing touchdown. He has nine rushing touchdowns on the season.

Fantasy Impact: Ridley appears to be the unquestioned starter in the Pats’ backfield. Vereen had been taking on a bigger role in recent weeks, but he was held to just three carries Sunday. Going forward, it’s easy to project Ridley as a solid RB2 in standard fantasy formats.

The Patriots improved to 9-3 with the win. New England clinched the AFC East with the victory.

Miami fell to 5-7 with the loss. The Dolphins have lost four of their last five games.

He’s tied Rice for this particular record but how many more catches does he need to tie him for most career catches? Only 809 more. He’s going to need a few more 10-catch games to get there.

I don’t know if that Dolphins fan is actually Cee Lo, but it is a lot more fun if I just go ahead and pretend that he is. It’s hard work hosting The Voice, making Christmas music you can export directly to every Starbucks in America and finding outfits that are somehow a cross between a swashbuckler and a Top Chef contestant.

It’s only natural Cee Lo would like to get away from Xtina and his stable of exotic cats and birds, kick back and watch the Dolphins, I’d assume. If it’s not Cee Lo (and that’s probably the case), at least this is an ecstatic Miami fan. And that’s nice. For awhile there, it didn’t look like there were many of those left anymore.

The injury is a major blow to the Dolphins’ chances of an upset against division-leading New England today. Should Long miss significant time, it could be devastating to Miami’s hopes of sneaking into the playoffs.

Long, one of the game’s elite offensive linemen and the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, has only missed two games in his five-year career.

Rude.

Wait, Heat ... Miami ... Miami Heat! This might be the most thought-out celebration in history.

Fantasy Impact: Hernandez caught just two passes for 36 yards against the Jets, but it’s hard not to like his fantasy prospects a lot this week. His greater body of work suggests that he will be targeted early and often with Gronkowski out, setting up Hernandez as arguably one of the best tight ends in fantasy football this week. He deserves serious starting consideration from owners in all formats.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

With December now on the calendar, the games become all the more important for teams like the Patriots, who are battling for playoff positioning. New England doesn’t have many serious health issues, but like every team at this time of the year, it’s banged up.

The inactives for New England are as follows, according to the team’s twitter site:

Edelman has caught touchdowns in consecutive games, and was on his way to a potentially enormous outing against the Jets before leaving the game. He had two receptions for 64 yards and a score off three targets within just 14 snaps played.

For more fantasy info, head over to the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8:30 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Check out SB Nation’s own Fantasy Football game, Pick 6!

Defensively, Miami has struggled in defending the pass as they rank 26th in the league, allowing 261.7 yards through the air per game. They do, however, stop the run relatively well, as their 96.7 yards given up per game ranks seventh in the NFL.

Kevin Nogle from The Phinsider lays out the Dolphins’ chances at the postseason: