New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Matchup Preview (1/9/22): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Matchup Preview (1/9/22)

We are sadly in the last week of the 2021 NFL regular season. As the season comes to a close, we have an electrifying matchup between two young quarterbacks on the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. Both teams surprised us with their consistencies for young teams, especially with the seven-game win streak of the Dolphins. Although the exhausting loss against the Titans took the Dolphins out of the playoffs, the team still has a lot to prove at the end of their season. The Patriots clinched a playoff spot, but they’re clawing their way to take over the top place in their division and possibly the conference. All of that rides on a win against the Dolphins, which may be easier said than done. If you want a thrilling game between two AFC East rivals, make sure to turn to this match on Sunday, January 9th at 4:25 PM EST.

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Betting Odds

This game is projected to be very similar to the Patriots-Dolphins matchup we saw earlier in the season. In Week 1, the Patriots entered the match favored by 63%, and they enter this week favored 66%. In their first meeting, the Dolphins overtook the Patriots with a score of 17-16. This week, the Patriots are striving to take the top spot in the AFC East and a potential spot as #1 in the AFC conference, so a win is absolutely crucial for them, making it more apparent that they’ll improve gameplay. Because of this, DraftKings has placed the spread in favor of the Patriots with a -6.5 (-110) and the Dolphins +6.5 (-110). The Dolphins have played at a level that few expected this year, so a six-point spread can be considered wide for this matchup. There has been no word that the Dolphins benched Tua Tagovailoa this game, and his presence was a massive threat to the Patriots in their last meeting and could close the gap of the spread very quickly.

The over/under for this game has been set to 40 points. The Patriots score an average of 25 points per game, whereas the Dolphins average 18 points per game. In their last matchup, the total points added up to 33, but as the season went on, both teams improved tremendously and could lead to larger point totals on both sides. Due to the stressed nature of the game, I would take the over only if the Dolphins keep Tagovailoa playing.

DraftKings is running a weekly special player prop on Mac Jones that may seem a bit risky but has the opportunity for a significant payout. If you decide to bet on Mac Jones throwing over 2.5 passing touchdowns, your odds are looking +350. The rookie quarterback only averages 1.2 passing touchdowns per game but had three last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars when he needed to prove his place for a playoff spot. He will be fighting for the chance at a division title which leads me to believe he will be throwing to the end zone more often than expected. It may be a risky bet, but high risks can bring high rewards.

My Prediction: Patriots Win 31-26

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, January 9
Time: 12:00 PM CST
Location: Hard Rock Stadium – Miami, FL
TV Coverage: ESPN/ABC/ESPN+

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Live Stream

Where can you watch Patriots vs. Dolphins online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Patriots vs. Dolphins Free Online Now.

New England Patriots Analysis

The New England Patriots had a stellar year with their rookie quarterback, Mac Jones. The team is entering the last week of the regular season 10-6 and are only trailing in their division due to a tie-breaker game. The Patriots secured their playoff berth last week but are contending with the Buffalo Bills to take the AFC East and have the potential to take the #1 seed in the AFC if all the pieces fall into place. The key will be to take a win against Miami and hope no other upsets interfere with their plans. 

Mac Jones has been a great leader for this team all season. He has been proven to be another Belichick success for quarterbacks for the New England Patriots. Jones has 3,540 yards entering Week 18 in his rookie year. The average yards per game for Jones falls at 221.2 but is being dragged down by an outlier game against the Bills, where he only threw 19 yards due to very harsh weather conditions. He’s concluding his first regular season with a QBR of 54.2, which lands him in the top 10 quarterbacks in the league. In the last meeting against the Dolphins, Jones was playing in his first-ever NFL game and reached 281 passing yards with a 74.4% completion percentage. Jones has a very high situational IQ compared to other young quarterbacks in the league and helps his team to significant wins in his first season. 

It’s not only Mac Jones that is leading the team to success. The rush offense, led by Damien Harris, has been crucial to the team’s backbone throughout the season. Harris lands eighth in the league for rushing yards with 892 yards and is tied for second for rushing touchdowns with 14 on the season. Harris has strengths of speed, strength, and agility, which makes him a threat to any defense. The Dolphins have a top 10 rush defense, but they may be no match for Damien Harris.

The Patriots’ defense is considered to be the best in the league at the moment. Their secondary is almost incomparable to other teams. The defense will be all over Tagovailoa and his receivers, forcing short, quick throws and easy turnovers.

New England Patriots Depth Chart

QB: Mac Jones
RB1: Damien Harris
RB2: Rhamondre Stevenson
RB3: Brandon Bolden
WR1: Jakobi Meyers
WR2: Kendrick Bourne
WR3: Nelson Agholor
TE1: Hunter Henry

Miami Dolphins Analysis

Unfortunately for many Dolphins fans, they will not be entering the 2021 NFL postseason for the fifth year in a row. There were many sparks that led people to believe their chances were looking bright, but a tough loss against the Tennessee Titans officially ended their season. Their season wasn’t disappointing to watch at all, with a comeback from 1-7 to 8-8 in the latter half of the season. 

Tua Tagovailoa helped carry his team to success in the second half of their season. After recovering from a rib and finger injury, Tagovailoa showed that he is one of the more talented young quarterbacks in the league. In 12 games, Tagovailoa has racked up 2,544 yards and 15 touchdowns and only ten interceptions. Tagovailoa has turned into a leader and a supporter for his team, which is more influential than his stats could ever be. In his last game of the season, I’m sure Tagovailoa will want to give his best performance to keep the momentum going into next season. 

All year Tagovailoa has looked towards Jaylen Waddle as his favorite receiver. Waddle has the 7th most receptions in the league with 99 with his QB1 Tagovailoa. Entering Week 17, Waddle has collected 988 receiving yards and five touchdown completions. He averages 65.9 yards per game, making him a considerable contributor of yards for the Miami team. He will be up against the Patriots’ secondary, which may be a challenge, but as long as he focuses his attention on completing the pass and not looking for fancy catches, he can be an even match for LC Jackson.

Since the Patriots have an intimidating secondary defense, the Dolphins may focus on the rush game more than they normally do. Myles Gaskin has been the top rusher for the team this 2021 season. He has 613 yards on 172 carries which leaves him with an average of 3.6 yards per carry. Gaskin was having his best performances in the middle of the season but has begun to fall off the groove these past few weeks. If Gaskin wants to be viewed as a threat in this matchup, he will need to take all of his strength to push through linemen and look for strategic holes to lead to necessary yards.

Miami Dolphins Depth Chart

QB: Tua Tagovailoa
RB1: Duke Johnson
RB2: Myles Gaskin
RB3: Phillip Lindsay
WR1: Jaylen Waddle
WR2: DeVante Parker
WR3: Albert Wilson
TE1: Mike Gesicki

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Daily Fantasy Picks

This is the last week of fantasy football and leaves many people in the fantasy championship. If you’re fighting for the title, the best starter you can have in this matchup would be the Patriots’ defense. They rank first overall in the league and have an average of 9.1 points per game. They’re projected 6.1 fantasy points this week, but they’ve boomed in half of their games and have a high of 16 points against the Atlanta Falcons. 

The only other player I would consider starting would be Jaylen Waddle. He averages 15.5 fantasy points per game and can be a surprising asset to any team. In the last game against the Patriots, Waddle was able to score 16.1 points for fantasy owners and had a high week of 29 points against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Waddle can be a risky starter, but he can yield amazing results for owners when he’s on his A-game.