Dolphins vs. Patriots: How Miami Can Slow Down New England's Offense

The New England Patriots host the Miami Dolphins in a Thursday night matchup that promises to excite.

Six teams have tried to best Bill Belichick and the Patriots this season. All six have failed.

Now it’s the turn of an invigorated Dolphins team that has scored 82 points in its last two games. A win for Dan Campbell’s team would put them firmly in the playoff hunt. For that to happen, they must disrupt the league’s best offense.

How can they do that? By meeting three specific keys.

Get to Brady

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Tom Brady at 38 years old looks like a better quarterback than most do in their prime.

He’s completing 68.9 percent of his passes. He’s averaging 342.3 passing yards per game. He’s thrown 16 touchdowns to just one interception, which was the fault of Julian Edelman.

Dan Campbell joked about putting “the whole secondary” on Rob Gronkowski, per CBS Miami’s Josh Baumgard. But the Dolphins have the potential to cause Brady problems before he can locate his favorite target.

Campbell’s arrival has seen an upturn in the performance of Miami’s high-profile defensive line. 

"

#Dolphins had one sack in their first 4 games. Last two with Dan Campbell as their HC they had 11. #MIAvsNE

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) October 29, 2015"

Cameron Wake is responsible for six of those sacks. He lines up against an offensive line that has performed admirably given the changes it has undergone each week, but Thursday night poses a different problem entirely.

Wake was back to his best against the Houston Texans, as Daniel Jeremiah's video shows:

"

Cam Wake...goodness! https://t.co/EtmWbL06Oo

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 27, 2015"

Wake, Ndamukong Suh, Earl Mitchell and Olivier Vernon are hitting their strides. Add in the fact that the Patriots offensive line is featuring rookies at center and right guard, and Brady could be in for a bruising night.

Keep Brady on the sidelines

Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images

The Patriots offense can’t wreak havoc if it’s not on the field.

Leading 20-16 in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the New York Jets conceded touchdowns on the Patriots’ final two drives and ended up losing 30-23. 

The Jets failed to keep Brady off the field, advancing only 16 yards and taking less than two minutes off of the clock after Danny Amendola scored the first of those touchdowns before punting the ball back to New England. 

Like the defensive line, Dolphins running back Lamar Miller has been in inspired form since Campbell’s appointment as interim head coach.

Week	Opponent	Carries	Yards	Yards Per Carry	Touchdowns
4	New York Jets	7	26	3.7	0
Bye	--	--	--	--	--
6	Tennessee Titans	19	113	5.9	1
7	Houston Texans	14	175	12.5	1

The Patriots defense has struggled against supreme running backs (LeSean McCoy averaged 5.9 yards from 15 carries in Week 2 and Frank Gore averaged six yards from 13 carries in Week 6). Miller isn’t elite, but his past two performances have been outstanding. 

Feeding Miller the ball should be the No. 1 priority. So long as he churns yards, Miler will  keep Brady off of the field.

Credit: TotalProSports.

Put pressure on LaFell

Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Brandon LaFell’s return to action went disastrously. 

Playing for the first time since Super Bowl XLIX, the Patriots wide receiver dropped six passes in Sunday’s win against the Jets. 

LaFell was clearly rusty, and nobody should believe he has lost all form of skill.

But the Dolphins can use LaFell’s shaky performance to their advantage. Several times a drop has turned into an interception because of a heads-up play by a defensive player capitalizing on a receiver’s error.

The Dolphins secondary should stick close to LaFell in the hopes that the former Carolina Panthers star botches another catch.

In Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts, after Julian Edelman injured his finger in the first quarter he became more complacent. 

Eventually, he made a costly mistake. He dropped a simple pass and the ball landed in the hands of Mike Adams, who returned it for a touchdown. Edelman tried to avoid letting the ball hit his right hand and paid the price, as Naz N' Sports' Vine shows.

This isn’t to say the Dolphins should injure LaFell, they should merely take advantage of any lingering rust. LaFell graded his performance on Sunday an “F,” per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Miami must make full use before he’s back to A.