The Patriots will return to the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium on Sunday to take on AFC East divisional rivals the Miami Dolphins. After dropping two contests on the road, New England will welcome a home game with an opportunity to knock off an injury-thinned Dolphins team that will be starting a player they just signed off of Baltimore's practice squad for the second-straight game.
In the absence of Tua Tagovailoa, Miami's offense has fallen to the bottom of the league, ranking 32nd in points and 26th in yardage. However, New England's offense (31st in points, 32nd in yards) has been almost as unproductive and is dealing with its own injury issues as attrition along the offensive line continues to add up.
Which team can find a way to produce enough points to win despite their problems through the first four weeks of the season? Here are the key players to watch!
Jacoby Brissett – After playing three games of being safe with the ball, turnovers hit Brissett hard against the 49ers. Along with a pick-six, his first interception of the year, Brissett also fumbled three times, recovering two of the three. Bad ball security is a non-starter for this offense and there's no quicker path to defeat than consistently handing the ball back to the opponent. Brissett continues to be under siege as a passer, facing pressure on nearly half his drop backs. Obviously, it's all connected, but at the very least the Patriots need Brissett's near-perfect ball security to return if they're to get back to winning against Miami.
Rhamondre Stevenson – Ball security is an early recurring theme here as Stevenson has fumbled in all four of the games this season and has lost those fumbles in each of the last two games. Cleaning these mistakes up is critical for Stevenson, especially as the team's most dangerous weapon and a key cog in the offense. Jerod Mayo intimated this week that Stevenson could lose snaps this week. Even if he does, it's a chance to get back on track. Miami has allowed over 100 rushing yards in each of their first four games and that should be a main target for the Patriots to exploit, as it is every week. Simply put, the Pats need their best players to be their best players. Stevenson must hang on to the ball and provide the early spark the Patriots need.
Ja'Lynn Polk – Polk has seen his playing time and targets consistently increase over the first four games. While his overall production of eight catches for 61 yards and a touchdown isn't all that special, the trends are headed in the right direction. Against the 49ers he had seven targets and came down with a career-high three of them, including a career-long 21 yards. Polk's consistency has shown up since summer and his strong hands were on display in San Fran as he nearly came down with a tough contested catch against two 49ers defenders along the sideline. Polk will still tell you he came down with it even if he was ruled out of bounds. If Polk continues to build on his start, he could be on track for an impressive rookie year.
Keion White – Despite the team's 1-3 start and the struggles of the defense, Keion White has been a breakout player in 2024. He's been a consistent disruptor from a variety of spots along the defensive line and has seen his role expand from that of a role player as a rookie in 2023 to an almost-every-down player in 2024. After four sacks in his first two games, White's tangible production has tailed off in the last two losses, while some of the defense's containment issues could be attributed to some of White's mistakes. Still, he continues to be a problem for opposing blockers. White is just scratching the surface of his ability and will be a key piece to shutting down Miami's struggling passing attack.
Christian Gonzalez – Gonzalez has played just eight games in his career and is another young player off to a strong start this season. Per Next Gen Stats, Gonzalez has allowed 13 catches on 24 targets for 80 yards and one touchdown despite facing some of the weapons in the game, often taking them on one-on-one. Last year against the Dolphins Gonzalez got the first and only interception of his career. Adding to that total is a good next goal for the young cornerback who just turned 22 years old. His silky-smooth athleticism continues to be a huge asset to the defense.
Marcus Jones – After seeing his 2023 season held just two games due to injury, Jones has had a strong start to 2024 in coverage, as a tackler and as a returner. According to Next Gen Stats, Jones has allowed 10 catches on 16 targets for 100 yards and no touchdowns. He had a strong pass breakup in the end zone against the 49ers as Jones is giving the Patriots a sticky and scrappy slot cornerback to play with. This doesn't even include Jones' punt returns as Jones is averaging over 10 yards-per-return, sixth in the NFL for those who have returned five or more punts. In his third season, it appears that Jones is putting it all together.
Tyler Huntley: Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed that Huntley would start his second game for Miami after being signed off of the Ravens practice squad. In last week's loss, Huntley threw for just 96 yards but also added 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries. While he's not the same elite driver of the Miami offense that Tua was, Huntley's weaponry and athleticism are still plenty for the Patriots defense to consider, especially on third down, where Patriots defenders have had trouble maintaining disciplined rushes.
Tyreek Hill & Jaylen Waddle: No WR duo in the NFL is more dangerous than Waddle and Hill, and the Patriots need no reintroduction to know what they're capable of. Certainly, it's not the same without their true quarterback at the helm, but Hill and Waddle remain threats to score every time they touch the ball. Expect McDaniel to take some shots downfield to Hill and Waddle to see if he can pick up the kinds of big passing plays that San Francisco hung on the Patriots defense last week.
De'Von Achane: Raheem Mostert continues to battle an injury of his own, putting the bulk of the running back carries on De'Von Achane, who had just 15 yards on 10 carries last week against the Titans. The Patriots defense has righted some of their tackling problems from the second and third games of the season, but issues remain for the front which ranks 18th in run defense DVOA per FTN Fantasy.
Jordyn Brooks – Brooks has emerged as one of the leaders of the Miami defense since signing with the team this past offseason from Seattle, leading the Dolphins with 32 total tackles while adding a sack and two tackles-for-loss. For a Patriots offense that will want to run the ball, Brooks will be a key player to get blocked if there are any explosive rushing plays to be had. Brooks had a whopping 13 tackles against the Titans, he's been all over the place.
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