Home » Home » Miami Dolphins Will Face the New England Patriots at the Start and Near the End of the 2022 Season

Miami Dolphins Will Face the New England Patriots at the Start and Near the End of the 2022 Season

By  //  July 29, 2022

The Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots will play each other early and late in the 2022 season. The games will be on Sept. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium and on Jan. 1 at Gillette Stadium.

New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins last season head-to-head

Record:

10-7, second in the AFC East for the New England Patriots in 2021. (defeated by Buffalo in the wild-card playoffs)

Meetings between the Patriots and Dolphins from the previous season: 

Week 1 in New England, Dolphins 17, Patriots 16, and Week 18 in Miami, Dolphins 33, Patriots 24.

These AFC East rivals came into the 2021 season’s opening game with a tonne of plotlines. Tua Tagovailoa’s teammate and backup at the University of Alabama was Mac Jones, a rookie quarterback with the New England Patriots.

He had already secured the starting position going into training camp, effectively ending Cam Newton’s brief stay in Foxborough. Jaylen Waddle of the Dolphins, a favorite target of both Tagovailoa and Jones at Alabama, made his NFL debut in this game as well.

Jones completed 29 of 39 passes for 281 yards and a score in a decent NFL debut. Waddle recorded four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. When Xavien Howard tackled Damien Harris and recovered a fumble at the Dolphins’ 9-yard line with 3:31 remaining in the first game of the season, Miami was able to defeat New England.

Since the Patriots had already secured and the Dolphins had already been eliminated from playoff contention, Week 18 was largely of no consequence. Taking advantage of the Patriots’ three turnovers, along with an interception that Howard returned for a score, the Dolphins were good enough to win, 33-24. Since 2000, the Dolphins had not swept the Patriots in a season.

A Review of the Dolphins’ 2021 Season

This season, the Miami Dolphins exemplified an inconsistent team. After defeating the New England Patriots to start the season, they were considered among a top team in the competitive AFC East for punters who enjoy NFL betting as they had felt it could be the year in which the organization returned to its glory days.

However, they went on a seven-game losing streak. They were 1-7 going into the second half of the season before going on a seven-game unbeaten run and completing the year at 9-8.

Miami dismissed head football coach Brian Flores in an unexpected turn of events despite their season coming around and just missing the playoffs, angering the supporters. The Dolphins have faith in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who tossed 10 interceptions to go along with his 16 touchdown passes this season. Miami’s offseason is going to be interesting.

Miami turned the season around after it appeared to be a failure, going on a seven-game unbeaten run and contending for a playoff spot. Jaylen Waddle, a rookie wide receiver, had a fantastic debut year, accumulating 1,015 total yards and scoring six touchdowns.

A Review of the Patriots’ 2021 Season

In the post-Tom Brady era, it only took one lost season for HC Bill Belichick to act in an unusually aggressive manner during the offseason. The Patriots, a typically conservative team, were the largest spenders in free agency. Following that, Belichick selected Mac Jones as the Patriots’ first quarterback in the first round since 1993 (Drew Bledsoe).

What should we expect to see this season?

As mentioned, the two iconic franchises will meet on September 11, and January 1 this year as they do battle in the AFC East alongside the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets.

There is no denying that both franchises are currently in a state of transition, with both organizations having had to undergo a number of changes in the last couple of years.

For the Patriots, it will be the second year in which Mac Jones will lead the offense, although there will be a greater expectation of him now that he has had a taste of the NFL.

For the Dolphins, the organization will want to be challenging as they have spent big to acquire talent this offseason, including the blockbuster trade that involved them giving up a lot to sign Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs.