Buried in the standings at 1-3 and left for dead after a Week 4 loss to the Jets, the Miami Dolphins might have saved their season with back-to-back blowout wins under interim coach Dan Campbell. Sustaining that momentum another week won't be an easy task, though. They hit road for a key AFC East primetime matchup in Foxborough against the undefeated New England Patriots, who have looked unstoppable this season.
Dolphins vs. Patriots 2015, ‘Thursday Night Football’ preview: Surging Miami looks to end New England’s unbeaten run
The Dolphins come to Gillette Stadium as one of the league’s hottest teams, but haven’t won there since 2008.
The Dolphins enter Gillette Stadium as one of the league's hottest teams and face a true measuring-stick game against their division rivals. Pounding a couple of mediocre AFC South clubs by a combined 46 points the last two weeks is one thing. Beating the defending Super Bowl champions on their home turf with a short week of preparation is another.
The Dolphins have gone from underachievers to playoff contenders in the span of a couple weeks since firing Joe Philbin on Oct. 5. They are 2-0 with Campbell at the helm and have morphed into a juggernaut, producing an astounding turnaround that has them playing with a ton of swagger and passion. Thursday night will be a legit litmus test for Miami and a true indicator of where the team stands in the AFC playoff pecking order.
New England remains the consensus team to beat in the NFL and appears to be on track to defend their title after improving to 6-0 for the third time in franchise history. The only other seasons the Patriots started with six straight wins were in 2004 and 2007, both of which ended with a trip to the Super Bowl. That 2007 campaign -- which included a perfect 16-0 regular season -- remains the only time they’ve won their first seven games out of the gate.
The Patriots survived their toughest test of the season last week with a win over the upstart Jets, keeping their unbeaten record intact and creating some separation in the AFC East. With wins already over two of their division rivals (Jets and Bills), if they can pull out another victory on Thursday against the Dolphins, they'd have a commanding lead in the division and would effectively take control of the race at the near-halfway point of the season.
Digits
An upset win by the Dolphins would be a monumental victory in many ways. First off, Miami hasn't won in New England since 2008. That's hardly a surprise, though, as the Patriots have been nearly unbeatable at Gillette Stadium against any opponent this time of year. They've won their last 11 home games before November, and haven't lost a home game in October in over a decade. Since losing to the Chargers in Week 4 of 2005, the Patriots are 20-0 at the friendly confines in this month.
Tom Brady is playing brilliantly and producing an MVP-caliber season at the age of 38. His numbers across the board -- yards, touchdowns, passer rating, yards per attempt -- are his best since 2011, and he's among the league leaders in nearly every meaningful stat. Brady is primed for another stellar performance against the Dolphins, too. He is 8-0 on Thursday nights, throwing for 2,249 yards with 20 touchdowns and two picks in those eight games. And he's a perfect 15-0 at home in September and October against AFC East foes.
The Patriots aren't the only team on a roll in this matchup, however. The Dolphins have steamrolled their last two opponents, beating the Titans, 38-10, and the Texans, 44-26. It's just the second time in franchise history they've put up at least 38 points in back-to-back games; they also did it in 1984, which is the last season that the Dolphins made the Super Bowl.
Whatever Dan Campbell’s doing in Miami, it’s working and the results in the last two games have been staggering. Their 82 points are 17 more than they scored in their first four games combined, and they’ve piled up nearly 1,000 yards of total offense in the last two weeks.
Most notably, Campbell has transformed the Dolphins into a physical team and Lamar Miller has blossomed as the feature back in this new scheme. He has 288 rushing yards and 33 carries the past two games, after rushing for just 131 yards on 37 carries in the first four. Miller's resurgence comes at a good time, facing a Patriots rush defense that ranks just 24th in yards per carry allowed.
The emphasis on the ground game has also taken pressure off Ryan Tannehill to carry the offense, and the quarterback responded with a career-best game on Sunday. He carved up Houston's secondary, producing a perfect passer rating of 158.3 while completing 18 of 19 passes for 282 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. In his last two games, Tannehill has a 83 percent completion rate and is averaging a whopping 11.4 yards per attempt.
Who to watch
Ndamukong Suh - Miami's defensive star is finally living up to the hype of the $114 million contract he signed this offseason. He didn't have a single sack heading into Week 7, and then produced a monster game with six tackles, two sacks, two batted passes and three quarterback hits against the Texans. Look for Suh to have another strong effort this week against a banged-up Patriots offensive line that has been shaky at times this season.
Brandon LaFell - The wideout made his season debut Sunday, and it was a forgettable one. LaFell was targeted eight times and caught just two of them for 25 yards. He was charged with three drops -- the most by a player in a single game this season, per ESPN Stats & Information -- and gave himself an "F" grade after the game. Granted, he was likely rusty after practicing only three times this week, but he needs a bounceback game to show that he can still be a trusted receiver in the passing game.
How to watch
When: 8:25 p.m. ET
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
TV: CBS | NFLN
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson
Online: NFL Game Pass
Preliminary Judgment
The experts aren’t confident that the Dolphins can pull off the upset here. All eight of the fellas at CBS Sports have the Patriots winning, and seven of our eight panelists here at SB Nation (good luck, PFT Commenter!) are picking New England to remain undefeated.
Odds
The Patriots are 7.5-point favorites and the over/under is 51, according to OddsShark.com.
Further Reading
For everything on the Dolphins, head over to The Phinsider. To get caught up on the Patriots, check out Pats Pulpit.
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