When the 3-0 Miami Dolphins travel to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the 1-2 Patriots will be up against something that hasn’t happened to the franchise in 213 consecutive games — a three-game losing streak.
The Patriots are already two full games behind Miami in the AFC East standings entering Week 4. The last time another team owned a two-game lead in the division? That’d be Week 8 of the 2002 season — the only time in his career that Tom Brady failed to reach the postseason as the starting quarterback. Yes, the 2008 Patriots missed the playoffs, but they went 11-5 behind Matt Cassell after Brady tore his ACL in Week 1.
We’re in nearly unprecedented territory for the Pats. On their seventh two-game losing streak of the Brady era, New England will look to avoid just its second three-game losing streak in that same span.
Here are three things to watch for Sunday in Foxborough:
Can the Patriots slow down Ryan Tannehill?
Over the last two games the Patriots have allowed a combined 638 passing yards and six touchdowns to Blake Bortles and Matthew Stafford. In the 26-10 defeat in Detroit, New England got dominated in time-of-possession, essentially watching the Lions offense on the field for two-thirds of the contest.
Tannehill is arguably playing better than any quarterback New England’s faced this season, going 54-for-74 for 687 yards and seven touchdowns with just two interceptions. Miami’s offense has five legitimate threats at receiver, possessing deep threats to exploit the Patriots’ secondary, and a possession receiver to extend drives — former Patriot Danny Amendola leads Miami with 11 receptions.
The Patriots and Lions each had 10 drives on Sunday night, so Detroit doubling New England’s time-of-possession is alarming. The defense must find a way to get Miami off the field early, and keep it from grinding clock.
Will we see the Patriots adjust their play call and personnel?
New England’s made a point of getting the ball in the hands of first-round pick Sony Michel during this two-game losing streak, and it hasn’t been successful. The running back’s seen 26 touches, many seeming forced, and gained just 90 total yards.
Michel’s splitting snaps with James White — who Brady went out of his way for postgame on Sunday to mention to the media that he believes White should be playing more. White has 191 yards and two touchdowns on 27 touches this year, so his lack of usage doesn’t make sense. Fewer head-scratching handoffs to Michel, and more spreading the ball around could be key.
From a personnel perspective, we may see Josh Gordon make his team-debut on Sunday, which would make for an interesting twist in the offensive game-plan.
Can Brady and Gronk carry this team to victory?
If all else fails, it’ll be interesting to see if the Patriots’ two best players can will this team to a much needed victory. After connecting seven times for 123 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, this duo has only hooked up on 6-of-9 targets for 66 yards and failed to score.
Miami is notorious for getting burned by opposing tight ends, most notably Gronk — who went for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns the last time he faced the Dolphins. This tandem will need to get back on track if the Patriots are going to avoid being on the wrong side of history.
