3 Reasons the Dolphins Will Blow Out the Patriots in Week 1

Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season is here. As usual, most of the action takes place on Sunday, including an AFC East collision between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. As of Saturday, FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Dolphins as the 3.5-point home favorites over the Patriots.

While the spread is somewhat close, the Dolphins have the potential to blow the Patriots out of the water. Miami's roster is leagues ahead of where it was last year and with offensive-minded Mike McDaniel as the new head coach, New England may have an issue keeping up for the full 60 minutes.

Here are three reasons why the Dolphins will blow out the Patriots in Week 1.

Patriots vs Dolphins Week 1

1. Dolphins' Recent Success vs. Patriots

Back when Tom Brady was quarterbacking the Patriots, wins were tough to come by for the Dolphins. Now that he's out of the picture, Miami has found success against its rival. The Dolphins have won three games in a row against the Patriots and are 7-2 against New England in the last nine games played at Hard Rock Stadium. As great as Bill Belichick is at game planning, it seems like Miami just has his number on the road. Taking into account that the Dolphins were 2-0 against New England last season and have a stronger roster this time around, another home victory — potentially a big one — could be right around the corner.

2. Miami's Momentum From Second Half of 2021 Season

The first half of the Dolphins' 2021 NFL season was terrible, going 1-7 to start the campaign (though, that lone victory came against the Patriots). Fortunately, they found their groove as time went on, going 8-1 down the stretch to show signs of life. While Brian Flores was the coach at the time, that second-half run showed that Miami has the ability to be a player in the AFC. Now that the roster is improved thanks to the likes of Tyreek Hill and Terron Armstead, along with McDaniel on the bench, the Dolphins should be an intimidating team. If Miami can re-kindle that late-2021 momentum, the Patriots could be in serious trouble.

3. Patriots' Lack of a Passing Game

While the Patriots have a solid roster, their passing game leads a lot to be desired. Quarterback Mac Jones has a lot of potential and Hunter Henry is a solid tight end, but that's about as exciting as it gets. No. 1 wideout Jakobi Meyers is questionable with an injury while Devante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne are hardly the most consistent targets. It's entirely possible that the Dolphins' improved offense will get them on the board early and often, making it tough for the Patriots to come back from behind without a reliable passing game. As great as the Pats can run the ball, the pass-catchers must show up or things could get ugly.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.