NFL Game Preview: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots - Week 15

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Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots - Week 15

Game Preview Fantasy \| Game Notes \| Results & Schedule \| Injury Report \| Stat Comparisons \| Weather \| Team vs. Team History

ARI STL	12 6
Pre	Post

TB CAR	17 19
Pre	Post

PIT ATL	27 20
Pre	Post

OAK KC	13 31
Pre	Post

MIN DET	14 16
Pre	Post

MIA NE	13 41
Pre	Post

JAC BAL	12 20
Pre	Post

HOU IND	10 17
Pre	Post

GB BUF	13 21
Pre	Post

CIN CLE	30 0
Pre	Post

WAS NYG	13 24
Pre	Post

NYJ TEN	16 11
Pre	Post

DEN SD	22 10
Pre	Post

SF SEA	7 17
Pre	Post

DAL PHI	38 27
Pre	Post

NO CHI	31 15
Pre	Post

Week:	1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 \| 10 \| 11 \| 12 \| 13 \| 14 \| 15 \| 16 \| 17
Playoffs:	Wild-Card \| Divisional Playoffs \| Conference Championships \| Super Bowl

Prediction: Patriots 27, Dolphins 17
by Mike Krueger | Follow @FF_Today

Player Rankings and Projections

Miami Dolphins
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 18	Ryan Tannehill	Pass: 255, 1 TD Rush: 25, 0
RB 25	Lamar Miller	Rush: 70, 0 TD Rec: 3-20, 0
WR 26	Mike Wallace	Rec: 5-60, 1 TD
WR 33	Jarvis Landry	Rec: 6-70, 0 TD
WR 80	Brian Hartline	Rec: 2-30, 0 TD
TE 14	Charles Clay	Rec: 4-40, 0 TD
K 24	Caleb Sturgis	FG: 1/1 XP: 2/2
DEF 20	Defense / ST

New England Patriots
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 10	Tom Brady	Pass: 280, 2 TD Rush: 0, 0
RB 23	LeGarrette Blount	Rush: 65, 1 TD Rec: 0-0, 0
RB 31	Shane Vereen	Rush: 20, 0 TD Rec: 4-30, 0
WR 27	Brandon LaFell	Rec: 5-65, 1 TD
WR 34	Julian Edelman	Rec: 6-70, 0 TD
WR 88	Danny Amendola	Rec: 1-20, 0 TD
TE 2	Rob Gronkowski	Rec: 8-75, 1 TD
TE 28	Tim Wright	Rec: 2-20, 0 TD
K 5	Stephen Gostkowski	FG: 2/2 XP: 3/3
DEF 2	Defense / ST

Game Notes

Dolphins In past 10, QB Ryan Tannehill has completed 235 of 333 passes (70.6 pct.) for 2,420 pass yards & 17 TDs vs. 7 INTs for 99.4 rating. Has won past 2 starts vs. Patriots, passing for 490 yards with 5 TDs for 101.7 rating. Club is 16-3 (.842) when Tannehill has 90+ rating. Has 70+ comp. pct. in 5 of past 6 overall... RB Lamar Miller led team with 89 scrimmage yards last week (53 rush, 36 rec.). Had TD catch in last meeting... WR Mike Wallace had 7 catches for 81 yards & TD in last meeting. Since entering NFL in 2009, leads AFC WRs with 44 TD catches. WR-KR Jarvis Landry (Round 2, No. 63 overall) leads NFL rookies with 63 catches & has 573 rec. yards with 5 TDs. Has 4 TD catches in past 6. Leads NFL rookies in KR avg. (29.8)... In past 9, DE Cameron Wake has 7.5 sacks, FF & FR. Since joining Dolphins in 2013, CB Brent Grimes has 9 INTs, most among AFC CBs. DE Olivier Vernon has sack in 2 of past 3 vs. Patriots. LB Jelani Jenkins leads team with 97 tackles...

Patriots Last week, joined 49ers (1983-98, 16) as only NFL teams to win 10+ games in 12 consecutive seasons. Have won 8 of past 9... Last week, QB Tom Brady passed for 317 yards & posted 64th career 300-yard game, eclipsing HOFer DAN MARINO (63) for 3rd-most in NFL history. In past 9, has 2,769 pass yards (307.7 per game) with 26 TDs vs. 5 INTs for 108.3 rating. Has 4,499 career comp. & needs 1 to become 5th player in NFL history with 4,500... In past 7 with Pats (incl. playoffs), RB LeGarrette Blount has rushed for 639 yards & 10 TDs... TE Rob Gronkowski had 87 rec. yards with TD last week & became 1st TE in NFL history with 4 10-TD seasons. Leads NFL TEs with 997 rec. yards & needs 3 to reach 1,000 for 2nd time in career (1,327 in 2011). Has 6 TDs in past 6. Since entering NFL in 2010, leads NFL with 52 receiving TDs. WR Julian Edelman had career-high 141 yards on 8 rec., incl. 69-yard TD, vs. SD... In past 8, LB Rob Ninkovich has 6 sacks, INT & FR. LB Jamie Collins had career-high 2 sacks last week & aims for 3rd consecutive game with sack.

Results and Schedule

Miami Dolphins
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2014-09-07	NE	H	W 33-20	+13
2	2014-09-14	BUF	A	L 10-29	-19
3	2014-09-21	KC	H	L 15-34	-19
4	2014-09-28	OAK	A	W 38-14	+24
5		Bye
6	2014-10-12	GB	H	L 24-27	-3
7	2014-10-19	CHI	A	W 27-14	+13
8	2014-10-26	JAC	A	W 27-13	+14
9	2014-11-02	SD	H	W 37-0	+37
10	2014-11-09	DET	A	L 16-20	-4
11	2014-11-13	BUF	H	W 22-9	+13
12	2014-11-23	DEN	A	L 36-39	-3
13	2014-12-01	NYJ	A	W 16-13	+3
14	2014-12-07	BAL	H	L 13-28	-15
15	2014-12-14	NE	A
16	2014-12-21	MIN	H
17	2014-12-28	NYJ	H

New England Patriots
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2014-09-07	MIA	A	L 20-33	-13
2	2014-09-14	MIN	A	W 30-7	+23
3	2014-09-21	OAK	H	W 16-9	+7
4	2014-09-29	KC	A	L 14-41	-27
5	2014-10-05	CIN	H	W 43-17	+26
6	2014-10-12	BUF	A	W 37-22	+15
7	2014-10-16	NYJ	H	W 27-25	+2
8	2014-10-26	CHI	H	W 51-23	+28
9	2014-11-02	DEN	H	W 43-21	+22
10		Bye
11	2014-11-16	IND	A	W 42-20	+22
12	2014-11-23	DET	H	W 34-9	+25
13	2014-11-30	GB	A	L 21-26	-5
14	2014-12-07	SD	A	W 23-14	+9
15	2014-12-14	MIA	H
16	2014-12-21	NYJ	A
17	2014-12-28	BUF	H

Injury Report

Miami Dolphins
Out	SLB Jonathan Freeny (hamstring) CB Jamar Taylor (shoulder)
Questionable	CB Cortland Finnegan (ankle) WLB Jelani Jenkins (foot) SLB Chris McCain (ankle) MLB Koa Misi (knee)
Probable	TE Charles Clay (knee) DE Dion Jordan (ankle) TE Dion Sims (neck) SS Jimmy Wilson (hamstring)
IR	CB Will Davis (knee, 11/14/2014) FS Louis Delmas (knee, 12/8/2014) WLB Dannell Ellerbe (hip, 9/8/2014) RB Mike Gillislee (hamstring, 8/26/2014) TE Arthur Lynch (back, 8/26/2014) RB Knowshon Moreno (knee, 10/14/2014) FS Michael Thomas (pectoral, 11/3/2014)

New England Patriots
Questionable	DE Dominique Easley (knee) SLB Dont'a Hightower (shoulder) DE Chandler Jones (hip) WLB Chris White (ankle)
Probable	QB Tom Brady (ankle) WR Julian Edelman (thigh) WR Brandon LaFell (shoulder) DE Rob Ninkovich (heel) RB Shane Vereen (ankle)
IR	WR Aaron Dobson (hamstring, 12/4/2014) MLB Jerod Mayo (knee, 10/16/2014) RB Stevan Ridley (knee, 10/16/2014)

Offense Stats Comparison

	MIA Offense	NE Offense	NFL Avg.	Adv.
Points for	22.5	33.0	22.7	NE
Rushing yards	89.8	87.0	110.5	MIA
Rushing yards per attempt	4.07	4.24	4.16	NE
Completion %	71.2%	65.1%	62.3%	MIA
Passing yards	206.0	299.7	234.7	NE
Passing yards per completion	8.57	10.60	10.76	NE
Passing yards per attempt	6.10	6.90	6.70	NE
Interceptions	0.5	1.0	0.9	MIA
Fumbles lost	0.3	0.0	0.6	NE
Sacks allowed	2.8	0.7	2.5	NE
3rd down conversions	42.9%	47.8%	39.9%	NE
4th down conversions	33.3%	100.0%	47.1%	NE
Time of possession	29:26	31:12	30:05	NE

Defense Stats Comparison

	MIA Defense	NE Defense	NFL Avg.	Adv.
Points against	17.5	18.3	22.7	MIA
Rushing yards	125.3	62.3	110.5	NE
Rushing yards per attempt	4.81	3.20	4.16	NE
Completion %	64.9%	55.9%	62.3%	NE
Passing yards	206.0	298.3	234.7	MIA
Passing yards per completion	9.52	12.50	10.76	MIA
Passing yards per attempt	6.18	6.98	6.70	MIA
INT return	0.8	1.0	0.9	NE
Fumble recoveries	0.3	0.0	0.6	MIA
Sacks	2.0	2.0	2.5	-
3rd down conversions	42.3%	38.0%	39.9%	NE
4th down conversions	50.0%	27.3%	47.1%	NE
Time of possession	30:34	28:48	30:05	NE

Special Teams Stats Comparison

	MIA	NE	NFL Avg.	Adv.
Yards per punt return	9.9	9.8	8.6	MIA
Yards per kick return	25.7	26.1	23.6	NE
Yards allowed per punt return	5.1	3.5	8.6	NE
Yards allowed per kick return	26.6	18.9	23.6	NE

Misc Stats Comparison

	MIA	NE	NFL Avg.	Adv.
Penalties	4.5	6.7	6.4	MIA
Penalty yards	32.3	64.7	53.4	MIA

Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game through Weeks 9 to 14 of the 2014 season after deducting the best and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per pass completion, yards per pass attempt, 3rd and 4th down conversions, special teams and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on totals through Weeks 9 to 14 with no adjustment.

Weather

Team vs. Team History

Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots
Season	Week	Date	Vis	Home	Score	Winner
2000	4	2000-09-24	NE	MIA	3-10	MIA
2000	17	2000-12-24	MIA	NE	27-24	MIA
2001	4	2001-10-07	NE	MIA	10-30	MIA
2001	15	2001-12-22	MIA	NE	13-20	NE
2002	5	2002-10-06	NE	MIA	13-26	MIA
2002	17	2002-12-29	MIA	NE	24-27	NE
2003	7	2003-10-19	NE	MIA	19-13	NE
2003	14	2003-12-07	MIA	NE	0-12	NE
2004	5	2004-10-10	MIA	NE	10-24	NE
2004	15	2004-12-20	NE	MIA	28-29	MIA
2005	10	2005-11-13	NE	MIA	23-16	NE
2005	17	2006-01-01	MIA	NE	28-26	MIA
2006	5	2006-10-08	MIA	NE	10-20	NE
2006	14	2006-12-10	NE	MIA	0-21	MIA
2007	7	2007-10-21	NE	MIA	49-28	NE
2007	16	2007-12-23	MIA	NE	7-28	NE
2008	3	2008-09-21	MIA	NE	38-13	MIA
2008	12	2008-11-23	NE	MIA	48-28	NE
2009	9	2009-11-08	MIA	NE	17-27	NE
2009	13	2009-12-06	NE	MIA	21-22	MIA
2010	4	2010-10-04	NE	MIA	41-14	NE
2010	17	2011-01-02	MIA	NE	7-38	NE
2011	1	2011-09-12	NE	MIA	38-24	NE
2011	16	2011-12-24	MIA	NE	24-27	NE
2012	13	2012-12-02	NE	MIA	23-16	NE
2012	17	2012-12-30	MIA	NE	0-28	NE
2013	8	2013-10-27	MIA	NE	17-27	NE
2013	15	2013-12-15	NE	MIA	20-24	MIA
2014	1	2014-09-07	NE	MIA	20-33	MIA

Note: Only playoff games from the 2004 to 2010 seasons are included in the team vs. team history. Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.