Dolphins vs. Patriots: Keys to a New England Victory on Christmas Eve

With just two more wins, the New England Patriots will lock up the top seed in the AFC. Who could have thought that this would even be possible with a defense as bad as New England's?

No one. Not even myself. 

The next two weeks for the Patriots are what some people would call a "cakewalk." New England will conclude their season hosting the Buffalo Bills, but first the team will take on the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Christmas Eve. 

Coming into Saturday's game, the Patriots have won six games in a row, while the Dolphins have been playing well as of late, as they're currently 5-9 after starting the season 0-7. 

With that being said, here are my keys to a New England Patriots victory this coming weekend. 

Stop Reggie Bush

This is ultimately a trap game. The Dolphins are a below-average team, they but still are a divisional opponent. They could easily steal a game away from the Patriots if Reggie Bush runs wild against New England's putrid defense. 

Bush has ran for at least 100 yards in each of the last three games, and he recently ran for an incredible 202 yards against the Buffalo Bills a week ago. 

Bush could cause some problems for New England's defense. They will be without Andre Carter, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, and they recently gave up a whopping 8.1 yards-per-carry against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos a week ago. 

If Bush can have a productive day, then this could very well end up being a close game in which the Patriots fall short.

Make Matt Moore Beat You

By shutting down Reggie Bush, it will ultimately force quarterback Matt Moore to try and beat you—which I believe he is incapable of doing.

Moore may be playing well, but he's a career backup and is prone to mistakes. He's thrown 23 career interceptions in 33 games while completing only 59.1 percent of his passes.

Score Early and Score Often

This ties into forcing Matt Moore to throw the ball. If Tom Brady and the team's offensive attack can put up a two-score lead, then it will put the Dolphins in a very bad position if Moore has to start throwing the ball.

I know, I know, Moore is having a solid season with Miami, and New England's pass defense is pathetic, but I still have no faith in Moore. And I have a strong feeling that Saturday will be a coming out party for the team's underachieving secondary—more specifically, Devin McCourty. 

Feed the Ball to Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski

The last time these two teams met back in Week 1, Welker caught eight balls for 160 yards and two scores while Gronkowski reeled in six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. The Dolphins simply did not have an answer for Welker and Gronk. 

Chances are that in this weekend, Miami will remain answerless, and Brady will get the ball into his playmakers' hands. 

Predicted score: New England 45, Miami 13

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