Patriots vs. Dolphins 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online

For the third time in five weeks, the New England Patriots are coming off a disheartening loss instead of a thrilling victory. This most recent defeat came in the Meadowlands against the Jets, and was precipitated by Bill Belichick opting to kick at the start of overtime instead of receive.

There was a mountain of confusion when special teams captain Matthew Slater made the call to referee Clete Blakeman, largely because Slater seemed confused himself. After the game, Slater said he wasn't sure whether the Patriots got to choose which end zone to defend. (They didn't, because teams that win the coin toss either choose to receive/kick or which direction they would like to defend.)

Like clockwork, the Jets marched 80 yards down the field after receiving the football and won the game when Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Eric Decker in the corner of the end zone. One of the theories as to why Belichick opted to kick is that he possessed more faith in his defense than injury-ravaged offense last week. This lack of trust in the offense was apparent at the end of the first half, too, when the Patriots chose to just run out the clock with 1:53 remaining and two timeouts instead of trying to score.

But that plan never materialized, and now the Patriots are still fighting for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. If the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins Sunday, they're guaranteed to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But if they lose and the Denver Broncos win, they'll be the No. 2 seed.

The Dolphins fired head coach Joe Philbin after a wretched loss in London to the Jets in Week 4. Interim head coach Dan Campbell won his first two games after Philbin was dismissed, but Miami has gone 2-7 over its last 10 contests. It seems as if another coaching change is inevitable this offseason.

Even though the Dolphins have been beyond lethargic this year, their star-studded defensive line should scare the Patriots Sunday. New England will likely be playing without tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who suffered a gruesome-looking ankle injury against the Jets last week. It's another hit to a banged-up unit that's struggled to protect Tom Brady recently.

With receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola likely sitting out one more week, the Patriots may be more concerned about protecting Brady than winning this football game. The No. 1 seed would be nice to have, but Brady's health is a necessity.