Patriots-Dolphins Week 12 news, notes, and fun facts
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots will make their annual trip to South Beach this weekend to take on the Miami Dolphins. While most New Englanders would probably enjoy a fall visit to Florida, it hasn't always been so kind to the Patriots.
The Patriots haven't enjoyed a road win over the Dolphins since the days of Tom Brady at quarterback, dropping each of their last four visits to Miami. Overall, the Patriots are just 17-42 in The Magic City.
Can Drake Maye and Jerod Mayo put an end to the team's road struggles against Miami? The Dolphins are 4-6 on the season but have won two straight to claw back into the AFC playoff conversation. The Patriots are looking to bounce back from a tough home loss to the Rams, which dropped them to 3-8 on the season.
Here's everything you need to know heading into Sunday's Patriots-Dolphins matchup at Hard Rock Stadium.
Patriots vs. Dolphins
- The Dolphins are going for their 16th series sweep over the Patriots, after taking the first matchup of the season, 15-10, at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 6. Miami took both matchups with New England last season; a 24-17 win in Foxboro and a 31-17 win at Hard Rock Stadium.
- The Patriots are just 13-24 at Dolphins/Hard Rock Stadium since it opened in 1987.
- New England is 105-46 against the AFC East since 2000, but just 27-22 against the Dolphins over that span.
- The Miami offense ranks 22nd in the NFL at 319 yards per game this season, while the Patriots are 31st at just 281.2 yards per game. The Dolphins are only averaging 18.1 points per game though, which ranks 27th, while the Patriots rank 30th at 16.5 points per game.
- The Dolphins tout a Top 10 defense, ranking ninth in the NFL at 308 yards allowed per game. Miami ranks 10th against both the pass (199 yards allowed per game) and the run (109 yards allowed per game).
- Neither team is very good at generating turnovers, as Miami has just nine takeaways and New England has just eight. The Dolphins have a minus-2 turnover differential, while the Patriots check in at minus-6.
Patriots-Dolphins Connections
- The Patriots have two former Dolphins on their roster: Defensive lineman Davon Godchaux (who played for Miami from 2017-20) and quarterback Jacoby Brissett (2021).
- Patriots assistant wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood was an offensive quality control coach in Miami for the 2019 season.
- There are seven former Patriots on the Miami roster: long snapper Tucker Addington (2022, 2024), punter Jake Bailey (2019-22), wide receiver Braxton Berrios (2018), defensive end William Bradley-King (2023), offensive lineman Chasen Hines (2022-23), tight end Jonnu Smith (2021-22), and offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (2020-22).
- Miami general manager Chris Grier was an intern in New England in 1994 and a regional scout from 1995-99.
- Dolphins wide receiver coach Wes Welker caught a franchise-record 672 passes for the Patriots from 2007-12.
Other Patriots-Dolphins Week 12 fun facts
- Drake Maye is averaging 9.3-yards per rush on 28 attempts for 260 yards so far this season. The highest rushing average for an NFL quarterback in a single season is the 8.5 yards that Michael Vick averaged in 2006, when he had 123 rushing attempts for 1,039 rushing yards with the Atlanta Falcons.
- Tua Tagovailoa is a perfect 6-0 against the Patriots for his career. The quarterback has completed 68 percent of his passes against the Patriots for an average of 216.5 yards per game, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions. He has also run for three scores against the New England defense.
- In his four weeks back since returning from a head injury, Tagovailoa has completed 78 percent of his passes (101-of-130) for 960 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception. He has fumbled five times in that span, but only lost one of them.
- Tyreek Hill has seven touchdowns in his nine career games against the Patriots. He's caught 31 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns in five games against New England since joining Miami in 2022.
- Christian Gonzalez caught his first and second career interceptions against the Miami Dolphins. If he gets another INT this weekend, Gonzalez will be the first player with an interception in his first three games against the same opponent since Dallas corner Trevon Diggs had an interception in his first three games against Philadelphia (2020-21). Gonzalez would join Gino Cappelletti as the only Patriots player to record his first three interceptions against a single opponent. Cappelletti got his first three interceptions in one game against Oakland on Oct. 16, 1960.
- Rhamondre Stevenson currently sits in 11th place on New England's all-time rushing list with 2,850 rushing yards. He needs 68 yards this week against the Dolphins to move past LeGarrette Blount (2,917) into 10th place.
- Marcus Jones leads the NFL with a 15.6-yard punt return average this season, racking up 311 yards on his 20 returns. The last Patriots player to lead the league in punt return average was Gunner Olszewski in 2020 with a team-record 17.3-yard average.
- Brenden Schooler has blocked two kicks in his career and they both came against the Dolphins. He blocked a field goal attempt by Miami last September and blocked a punt in the second quarter of New England's Week 5 loss to the Dolphins this season.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Dolphins game on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots! We'll get you Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. on WBZ-TV and streaming online at CBSBoston.com! Stick around the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!