{"numbering":"asc","slides":[{"index":1,"title":"Curran’s Patriots-Dolphins preview review","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/new-england-patriots-tom-brady-dolphins-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

MIAMI – Health has been the overriding factor in every Patriots season since 2011. At their healthiest in 2014, they won a Super Bowl. Waylaid by injuries to Rob Gronkowski in 2011 and 2013, they lost in the AFC Championship. Injuries to everyone else last season led to the loss in Denver. With one game left, a Patriots win means they will play at home until the Super Bowl. Even if they don’t win, if Oakland loses later in the day the Patriots will still have home field. But Bill Belichick is nothing if not decisive. He won’t want to give his team an ambiguous “play hard, try to win, but don’t get hurt” message. Not after last season’s uneven close. Presume the Patriots to go after the W in this one and the Dolphins – who are trying to forge an identity and are still a ways away from being Super Bowl ready – to do the same.

REVIEW

It went as we expected it would. The Patriots weren’t monkeying around with a bunch of “if, then” hypotheticals. They assessed what they could control and they controlled it. Good for them. Good for the sport. And probably good as a springboard going into the playoffs where a fallow field awaits.

"},{"index":3,"title":"WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/new-england-patriots-legarrette-blount-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

Miami is not good against the run as the Patriots found in their first matchup with the Fins this year. They also give up a lot of the short stuff in the passing game. The Patriots health this year and running attack are miles ahead of the 2015 team that couldn’t move the ball on the ground in the season finale in Miami. With the postseason looming, the shrewdest way for the Patriots to approach this will be to play to win and try to establish their terms – run the ball, play sound defense, bleed the clock and get the hell out of Florida. In the first meeting, the Patriots got big games from tight end Martellus Bennett (five catches, 114 yards and two TDs) and Blount (29 carries, 123 yards). Look for Blount in particular to get his share of touches and also newcomer Michael Floyd to get an expanded package of plays he’s involved in as he works his way into the offense.

REVIEW

Nice balance for the Patriots offense which came out at the start and took command with back-to-back touchdown drives. On the first, Brady went 6-for-6 and the Pats converted three third downs. New England was 7-for-12 on third down, 3-for-4 in the red zone and didn’t have a turnover. Oh yeah, the balance. The Pats ran it 29 times for 120 and threw it 34 times for 276. The talent diversity on this Patriots offense is fascinating in that there are players in “sub” positions with subtle differences to their games that makes each one just a little more useful on certain days. Dion Lewis (11 carries, 48 yards), is a better runner than James White but White’s a better pass-catcher in certain situations because of his size than Lewis. Chris Hogan (4-for-27) is different from Julian Edelman (eight for 151) and they are both different from Michael Floyd (3-for-36). It’s going to continue to be a hard group to deal with over the course of 60 minutes.

"},{"index":5,"title":"WHEN THE DOLPHINS HAVE THE BALL","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/miami-dolphins-qb-matt-moore-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

Matt Moore has done just fine in the two games he’s been in for the injured Ryan Tannehill securing road wins against the Jets and Bills. While both of those teams have been disinterested participants, Moore can’t be knocked for that. He’s got six touchdown passes and two picks and has thrown for 516 yards. Miami’s gone 10-for-22 on third down and 4 for 5 in the red zone with Moore leading the offense. The talent around him starts with running back Jay Ajayi who ran for 206 last week. Kenyan Drake is a threat as well as Ajayi’s backup. Wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker are the Dolphins’ 1-2-3 punch at wideout. Tight end Dion Sims had a two-touchdown game against the Jets two weeks ago. The Patriots will be challenged by the heat in South Florida as they always are this time of year. They can expect a full ration of Ajayi and Drake as Miami seems intent on turning itself into a physically imposing team and is succeeding.

REVIEW

Miami scored touchdowns on either side of halftime, partially erasing a 20-0 Patriots lead but the hole the Patriots put Miami in with ball-control offense and strong-tackling defense made it stifling for Miami. Did Moore complete passes with some regularity? Yessir. Finished the day 24-for-34 for with two touchdowns and a pick – but he also was able to generate just 205 yards passing. Meanwhile, the Patriots defense bottled up the Miami running game as Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake managed just 69 yards on 20 carries between them. The Patriots kept the explosive Landry from going the distance on them by playing back and making sure their tackling was sound. He had nine catches but only 76 yards. The second Miami touchdown came on a busted coverage with Kyle Van Noy the apparent culprit. The Patriots caused two turnovers – a Logan Ryan pick and a Shea McClellin fumble recovery caused by Devin McCourty – that led to New England touchdowns.

"},{"index":7,"title":"THE KICKING GAME","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/new-england-patriots-stephen-gostkowski-ryan-allen-121215_0.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

Stephen Gostkowski’s steadiness in recent weeks has been a big boon for the Patriots heading toward the postseason. They’ll want him to go into the break on a high note. Ryan Allen has had his best season so far in terms of net average (41.8) and return yard average (7.0). That’s the lowest PR average since 2003. Jarvis Landry and Jakeem Grant are the main returners for Miami. Andrew Franks is their kicker. He’s meh, although he did kick a big game-winner last week. Same for Matt Darr, the punter.

REVIEW

Damn. Missed one. Though it was a 52-yarder on a slick field and hardly a chip shot, Stephen Gostkowski's resurgent streak of field goals was snapped. Ryan Allen had another really good game with three punts averaging 48.7 and a net of 44. Not much actiion for the Pats in the return game and the coverage was solid aside from a 14-yard punt return allowed to Jakeem Grant.

"},{"index":9,"title":"PATRIOTS MEDICAL REPORT ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/patriots_malcolm_mitchell_112016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

OUT: WR Danny Amendola (ankle), CB Cyrus Jones (knee).

DOUBTFUL: WR Malcolm Mitchell (knee).

QUESTIONABLE: TE Martellus Bennett (ankle, shoulder), QB Tom Brady (thigh), LB Dont’a Hightower (knee) and WR Matt Slater (foot).

REVIEW

Mitchell wound up not making the trip. Aside from that, nobody seemed the worse for wear afterward.

"},{"index":11,"title":"DOLPHINS MEDICAL REPORT ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/slide_5_ryan_tannehill_102915.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

OUT: QB Ryan Tannehill (knee).

DOUBTFUL: LB Jelani Jenkins (knee), CB Byron Maxwell (ankle).

QUESTIONABLE: RB Jay Ajayi (shoulder), LB Spencer Paysinger (knee) and DE Mario Williams (ankle)

REVIEW

Defensive back Tony Lippett left for a spell after getting demolished by Michael Floyd.

"},{"index":13,"title":"GAME WITHIN THE GAME ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/new-england-patriots-tom-brady-dolphins-injured-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

Protecting the assets. Miami will have a Wild Card game next week. They need to keep their key players – Jay Ajayi and Jarvis Landry on offense; Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh on defense – from getting banged up in a game that doesn’t mean a whole lot in terms of seeding. Same deal for New England which, though they have a bye in the first round, need to keep players like Brady, Donta Hightower, Martellus Bennett and Julian Edelman – from getting damaged while still closing strong.

REVIEW

Despite a Boston Globe report predicting the Patriots would sit Dont'a Hightower and Matt Slater and “manage” Julian Edelman, they all played. Edelman managed to catch eight passes for 171 yards on 13 targets. It was a bold move.

"},{"index":15,"title":"DOLPHINS GOTTA STOP ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/blount_102416.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

LeGarrette Blount. The Patriots can combine keeping Tom Brady out of harm’s way while still chasing a victory by establishing Blount on the ground. In the first meeting this season, Blount ran for 123 on a season-high 29 carries. Miami hasn’t held a team under 100 yards rushing since November 13.

REVIEW

With Tom Brady back at the wheel and Dion Lewis in the mix, the need wasn’t there to pound Blount all day long so the Patriots were able to get balance. But after the first drive using Lewis, Blount got the bulk of the carries and was effective with 51 yards on 14 carries.

"},{"index":17,"title":"PATRIOTS GOTTA STOP ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/miami-dolphins-jay-ajayi-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

Jay Ajayi. After rolling up 529 yards in three games earlier this season, Ajayi was held under control for a stretch of time until last week when he went over 200 yards rushing for the third time this season with 206 against the Bills. Stopping him and putting the game in Matt Moore’s hands will be a priority for New England.

REVIEW

Ajayi had eight carries for 29 yards in the first half and had just 59 for the game. There were occasions where he turned corners or got into space but the Patriots did a very good job of swarming the ball to minimize yards or getting him down after first contact.

"},{"index":19,"title":"THAT SUMS IT UP PATRIOTS STYLE ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/patriots_devin_mccourty_112616.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

“He doesn’t want to go down. I think when you watch him you just see in really every situation him trying to break a tackle or throwing a guy off him. There are plays sometimes where it seems like he’s stopped behind the line by maybe two defenders and he’s just ‘I don’t want to go down, I’m going to try to run through this.’ You see him take a negative one or a no gain and get three or four yards which is just tough. It puts a lot of pressure on a defense. You see the effect he has on defenses where he wears them down where a lot of his yardage is coming in the second half, having huge second halves where he’s able to just wear a defense down with four-yard gains, five-yard gains, two yards, then like last week he breaks a 57-yarder in overtime. So obviously tackling is tough but I think the down-after-down for 60 minutes tackling him is going to be a tough problem, too.” – Devin McCourty, Patriots safety, on dealing with Jay Ajayi

REVIEW

The Patriots have had one of their best seasons when it comes to tackling and the job done on Ajayi was proof positive of that as they held him to 59 yards on 16 carries with a long of 11.

"},{"index":21,"title":"THAT SUMS IT UP DOLPHINS STYLE ","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/miami-dolphins-adam-gase-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

“I think for us we need to focus on this game. We have to do everything we can to compete in this game and get to that fourth quarter and keep it tight and then try to do what we’ve been doing all year. The guys have done a good job of battling and then the fourth quarter, just try to find a way to put ourselves in position and whether it be score a touchdown at the end or kick a field goal or stop them on defense, we’re looking to find a way to win one game.” – Adam Gase, Dolphins coach, on potentially facing the Patriots in two weeks

REVIEW

They didn’t keep it tight in the fourth quarter. They didn’t keep it tight in the first quarter, actually. The Patriots’ 20-0 stagger was narrowed to 20-14 in the third but the Patriots snapped back on the 77-yard Brady to Edelman touchdown to ice it.

"},{"index":23,"title":"THE WINNER IS...","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2016/12/30/new-england-patriots-fans-in-miami-123016.jpg","caption":"

PREVIEW

Patriots 24, Dolphins 21

REVIEW

Patriots 35, Dolphins 14

"}]}