Dolphins at Patriots
THE STORY: Division titles are nice, but the New England Patriots have loftier expectations. Sure, winning the AFC East for the ninth time in 11 years (presumably) put a smile on the face of coach Bill Belichick, but New England has its eyes on the top seed in the conference. To strengthen their position, the Patriots will vie for their seventh straight victory on Saturday when the division rival Miami Dolphins come to town. In the season opener against Miami, Tom Brady threw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns – including a 99-yarder to former Dolphin Wes Welker. Last week, New England snapped the six-game winning streak of the Denver Broncos with a 41-23 triumph. For its part, Miami made a winner out of interim coach Todd Bowles in his debut with a 30-23 victory over the AFC East rival Buffalo.
TV: CBS, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Patriots -9.5, O/U 48.5
ABOUT THE DOLPHINS (5-9): RB Reggie Bush rushed for a career-high 203 yards and scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season on Sunday. He sits just 27 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard season of his career. After recording just one 100-yard game with New Orleans, Bush has accomplished the feat in three successive weeks with Miami. WR Brandon Marshall recorded consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons – a rare feat in South Florida. The last Dolphin to do so was former Patriot Irving Fryar (1993, 1994). Marshall could have a field day against New England's 32nd-ranked pass defense.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (11-3): New England's biggest victory in Week 15 may have come from the losses of its closest contenders. Houston (10-4) and Baltimore (10-4) tasted defeat on Sunday and Pittsburgh (10-4) met with the same fate one day later. As a result, the Patriots now control their own destiny with home tilts remaining versus the Dolphins and Bills (5-9). Brady collected his 13th multi-touchdown game of the season after throwing for two scores against the Broncos. He can tie Miami legend Dan Marino's record of 15 (set in 1984) by continuing the trend in the team's final two contests.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. New England TE Rob Gronkowski needs only 34 yards to break Ben Coates' single-season franchise record of 1,174 yards. Kellen Winslow of the San Diego Chargers holds the NFL's tight end record with 1,290 yards, set in 1980.
2. While no one is confusing QB Matt Moore with Marino, the former has thrown for 11 touchdowns against two interceptions over the last seven games.
3. For all the pomp and circumstance of the victories, New England suffered a significant loss on Sunday. DE Andre Carter, who leads the team with 10 sacks, injured his left quadriceps and was placed on IR on Tuesday.