Alas, the quest for back-to-back wins begins anew.
This week the Patriots head down to the cursed turf of the Miami Dolphins, where they have not fared well historically.
This may be exacerbated by a Dolphins team who will be fighting to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
In Week 5, a normally zone-heavy Dolphins defense went against their tendency and played a heck of a lot of press man coverage.
This was largely because of a lack of fear of the Patriots’ wide receivers and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
This time, however, Drake Maye and 90.0 PFF rushing grade – second in the league – are at the helm.
Maye’s mobility has shown to be a huge factor when teams elect to play man coverage against the Pats.
However, he had his most successful passing day of his career against a similar zone-heavy scheme in the Rams last week.
It will be fascinating to see how Miami tries to tackle a Patriots offense that is very different compared to the last match-up in Week 5.
Teams fearful of Gonzalez
The coaching and game planning on defense needs to be better this week.
Against the Rams, the defensive players were far from at their best, but I do not think the coaching put them in a great position to succeed.
Opposing teams are aware that throwing at Christian Gonzalez is a bad idea. He has allowed a staggeringly low 183 receiving yards on 38 targets, and has zero missed tackles on the season.
However, the Rams used bunch and stacked formations and motion to try and prevent Gonzalez from nullifying a single receiving threat.
They targeted the Pats’ linebackers, who are weak in coverage. Jahlani Tavai and Christian Elliss have PFF coverage grades of 39.9 and 42.9, respectively.
This may also be a factor in the upcoming game, as the Dolphins use condensed formations on 45.6% of plays – sixth-most in the league – and have a player in motion 82.7% of the time – most in the league.
Hopefully, the New England defensive staff will have a better game plan to protect their linebackers in coverage and allow Gonzalez to blanket Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle.
