The Patriots are in an extremely weird spot entering Sunday’s matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
New England isn’t exactly competing for a postseason berth, so anything they do will likely be categorized as more of a moral win than anything. Miami, whether we’re all ready to admit it or not, isn’t exactly fighting for anything meaningful, either.
It’ll likely be another bad football game between two bad teams.
What if we see something magical, though? We have spent the entire year making bold predictions, but it’s time to turn the volume up on them, so let’s explore a couple of wild possible outcomes heading into Sunday:
TUA TURN-THE-BALL-OVAH
Tua Tagovailoa has been tremendous since returning from his latest concussion on Oct. 27, passing for seven touchdowns to just one interception while leading Miami to back-to-back victories over the last couple of weeks.
New England is going to put a stop to that.
The Patriots were plastered for their coverage decisions last week against the Los Angeles Rams, but we don’t expect them to get caught slacking again. Christian Gonzalez will take care of Tyreek Hill, Marcus Jones and Jonathan Jones will do their part on Jaylen Waddle and Kyle Dugger will put the straps on old friend Jonnu Smith. Tagovailoa won’t have anywhere to throw and will ultimately make a few mistakes on the way to his first-ever loss to NEP.
Prediction: The Patriots force two turnovers and score a defensive touchdown.
MAYE’S SIGNATURE MOMENT
The Patriots haven’t allowed Drake Maye to really let it rip yet, but at some point, we expect that to change.
Why not Sunday?
Steve Grogan currently holds the franchise record for passing yards in a game (365) by a rookie quarterback, setting it on Nov. 23, 1975. Drew Bledsoe currently holds the franchise record for passing touchdowns in a game (four) by a rookie quarterback, setting it on Jan. 2, 1994.
Both will fall on Sunday.
Prediction: Drake Maye sets franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns in a single game.
