An AFC East showdown is on the cards as the Miami Dolphins travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots. Both the Dolphins and Patriots will be led by former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterbacks into this pivotal divisional clash and if the NFL odds were any indication, Mac Jones has the edge over Tua Tagovailoa as the Patriots are laying 3 points at early doors
Sunday, September 12, 2021 – 4:25 PM EDT at Gillette Stadium
The Miami Dolphins are coming off a solid 10-6-0 season, the product of a combined effort between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins were potentially one win away from clinching a playoff spot last season, but at the time of asking, Tagovailoa, who started in week 17, failed to come through and the Dolphins succumbed to an embarrassing 56-26 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Overall, Tagovailoa went for a modest 6-3 in nine starts for the Miami Dolphins in 2020. By all accounts, his performance was average at best and statistically, he was uninspiring. And yet, taking his entire account into consideration, the Dolphins still moved on from Ryan Fitzpatrick in the offseason. Determined to stick to the quarterback they’d been so eager to draft in 2020. So, it’s Tua’s team now. Whoopee!
Suppose, the hope in Miami is that Tua will take a massive leap forward in his second year as a starter. Hope springs eternal, so they say. Well, if the revamped New England Patriots defense is as good on the field as it looks on paper, Miami fans won’t have very long to find out just how good (or bad) their chosen quarterback really is.
The Patriots defense was decimated last year with Covid-19, preseason opt-outs, and injuries. This year, Belichick has his Patriots defense stacked and it promises to be an elite unit once again. It could be a long day for Tagovailoa.
Few would have predicted Mac Jones would be starting in week 1 for the New England Patriots when the Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback, flush off a National Championship, was drafted No.15 overall. Cam Newton looked set as the Patriots’ starter for the first week of the season. However, a misunderstanding of the coronavirus regulations during the offseason forced Newton to miss the final week of practice. That gave Jones, who’d had an impressive turn in the first couple of exhibition games, to really impress Belichick and the Patriots coaching staff. Which he did. Thus, winning the starting job and bringing an end to Newton’s short-lived sojourn in New England.
Jones proved to be a reliable signal-caller and led the Patriots to three straight wins in the preseason. Of course, the preseason isn’t the real deal, but it still counts for something. He showed poise, smarts, and great pocket awareness. Impressively, he didn’t throw a single interception. Jones is still a rookie though, so there are bound to be a few hiccups along the way. So long as Jones can keep it steady, the Patriots will have a great shot at starting the season in winning fashion.
As mentioned above, the defense is sure to be a key factor to the Patriots success – as it’s always been over the two decades of Belichick’s reign.
Tagovailoa has one year of NFL experience and the Dolphins are coming off a solid 2020 campaign, but bookmakers aren’t sold on the Dolphins…at least not yet. That’s telling. The Patriots are coming off a disastrous 6-10-0 campaign, one of the worst results of Belichick’s career. They’re rolling with a rookie quarterback and take a revamped roster into 2021. And yet, with all these unknowns coming together, bookmakers are all over it. Pegging the Patriots as the 3-point faves on the NFL odds board.
Betting is split down the middle for this game and for good reason. In more ways than one, this is a tricky matchup to predict, mainly because it’s hard to let go of preconceived notions regarding the AFC East and New England’s supremacy within the division over the last two decades. It’s that supremacy that has earned Belichick the respect and consideration of his peers as one of the greatest head coaches in the NFL. Hence, it’s also preferable to believe that 2020 was an aberration. A one-off disaster down to circumstances that were out of Belichick’s hands.
Certainly, Belichick will be keen to have exactly that message pressed home in the Patriots’ season opener and there’s no better way to achieve that than winning. Thus, the Patriots to win and the cover is the choice bet here because you can bet Belichick will stand for nothing less than a victory.
NFL Pick: Patriots -3 (-110) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.