NFL picks and predictions, Patriots vs. Dolphins 2016: New England a consensus pick to win

The New England Patriots are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the New York Jets, but thanks to a friendly result on Monday night, they’re still in the driver’s seat for home-field advantage. They can secure a No. 1 seed against the Miami Dolphins if they win.

The Patriots’ loss in Week 16 came under bizarre circumstances. Head coach Bill Belichick made the call to kick the ball away at the start of the overtime, supposedly because he trusted his defense to make a stop and get the ball back in Tom Brady’s hands. However, the Jets marched down the field on their opening drive and Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Eric Decker in the end zone to keep their playoff hopes alive.

That coaching decision could’ve cost New England the top seed in the AFC, but the Cincinnati Bengals didn’t take advantage and fell in overtime to the Denver Broncos. Now, the Patriots can simply clinch home field in the playoffs with a win over the Dolphins, a team they throttled in Week 8 with a 36-7 win.

The Dolphins are scuffling toward the end of another lost season. They sit at 5-10 and will be searching for a new head coach next week. Dan Campbell briefly provided a spark after the team fired Joe Philbin early in the season, but the Dolphins have too many problems for an interim coach to solve. Miami invested a lot of money on the defense and gave Ryan Tannehill a big contract extension, but the team is now left with more questions than answers heading into the offseason.

Not surprisingly, the Patriots are heavy favorites in this game. Every writer at both CBS Sports and SB Nation are picking them to win.