DOLPHINS GAMEDAY

KEYS TO THE GAME

Protect Tua Tagovailoa: The Patriots added Matt Judon, who has logged 34.5 sacks the past five seasons, this offseason hoping that the former Raven will improve New England’s pass rushing. The Patriots defense will also feature Kyle Van Noy, who will likely want to get some revenge after the Dolphins dumped him this offseason after signing him to a big deal last year. It doesn’t help that Miami’s offensive line is young, and relatively unproven considering four offensive linemen are second-year starters. And that’s only if Austin Jackson, who is on the COVID-19 reserve list, gets cleared to return to the team and play by Sunday. If not, Miami will begin the 2021 season with a patchedup offensive line that has a relatively unproven player at left tackle, therefore the game plan needs to be adjusted to compensate for possible struggles.

Rattle Patriots rookie QB Mac Jones: Jones thrived in Alabama’s RPO-based offense last season, leading the Crimson Tide to an undefeated national championship season because he usually had the best talent on the field at every position. That won’t be the case in the NFL, and the Dolphins need to see how he handles exotic blitzes and regular pressures, which should force him to throw the ball sooner than he’d like.

Jones, the Patriots’ 2021 first-round pick, doesn’t have much mobility, so the Dolphins defense should utilize blitzes and pressures to get him off his spots and mess up his timing on routes. The playbook is usually simplified for rookie starters, especially early, and the Miami defense, which finished the 2020 season ranked sixth, needs to show the league just how much work Jones will have to do before he can ever be crowned The Next Tom Brady.

Rush for more than 100 yards:

The Dolphins, who averaged only 3.9 yards per carry last year and 105.5 rushing yards per game, would like to put a stronger emphasis on the running game this season. Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed are ready to handle the tailback workload, likely sharing the backfield 60-40.