Kickoff: The Patriots kickoff the season against a familiar foe. The Patriots have opened up each of the last two seasons against the Dolphins. They beat them in 2020 but lost the home opener last season.

Miami has been a house of horrors for Bill Belichick’s Patriots as his team’s have gone 9-12 in South Beach in his tenure as Patriots coach.

The Patriots have dominated the Dolphins overall in the Belichick era despite their record in Miami however the Dolphins lead the overall series 59-54.

1st Down: Get Mac i to rhythm early: Defacto offensive coordinator Matt Patricia has to get quarterback Mac Jones into a rhythm early. Three step throws, perimeter screens and play action passes are going to be the best way to do it. Make him comfortable and give him some confidence in the game plan right out of the gate!

2nd Down: Bracket Hill: The Patriots have had success defending Tyreek Hill in the past and one of the ways they’ve done it is by bracketing him. They need to double him as much as possible in this game. Look for a lot of two to a side depending on down and distance and alignment.

3rd Down: Establish the run: Getting Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson on track early will be important in this game. If the Patriots can establish a physical tone upfront, it will help the offensive line get into a groove and set the tone.

4th Down: Match up: The Dolphins will pose some match up problems offensively so it will be interesting to see how the Patriots deploy their secondary. Will they play a lot of three safety looks or more nickel and dime? We’ll know early.

Extra Point: Disrupt the RPO Game: The Dolphins run a lot of RPO’s. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is comfortable running them and he’s good at it. The Patriots need to cloud his reads and disrupt the receivers timing at the line of scrimmage. If they don’t, Tagovailoa will pick them apart like he did last season.

Final Drive: The Patriots are up against it. Miami is good and so are the four opponents they are facing to open the season. They need to win today to establish momentum as they embark on a tough stretch to open the season.

Getting off to a good start is the key today. If the offense struggles early and the defense can’t get them off the field, it will be a long afternoon. The Patriots cannot have the same type of start they did the last time they were in Miami. They must play better. PERIOD!