Everything you should know about the Patriots-Dolphins matchup in Week 8

FOXBORO -- The Patriots are about to miss out on a lovely fall weekend in New England. They must be so bummed to miss out on the mid-60s for ... nevermind, they're going to South Beach, where the weather is always perfect.

The Pats will take on the Dolphins for the second and (likely) final time this season, looking to earn a split in the season series. They lost a close one at Gillette Stadium in Week 2, coming up a handful of plays short of a potential upset. But after actually pulling off an upset against the Bills in comeback fashion last weekend, there is hope that the Patriots could maybe play spoiler to a few of the league's better teams.

Miami is 5-2 on the season after getting out-toughed by the Philadelphia Eagles last week, so they'll be pretty miffed come Sunday afternoon. But they also have a trip to Germany coming up in Week 9, so the Dolphins may have their focus elsewhere. 

These are the edges the Patriots now have to rely on; a distracted opponent that takes them lightly. That still doesn't mean the Patriots will win, but they at least gave us all some hope that we won't be wasting our Sundays the rest of the year. 

Here's everything you need to know about this weekend's Patriots-Dolphins rematch.

Patriots vs. Dolphins

-Miami owns a 61-55 edge overall against New England. 

-The Patriots are just 17-41 against the Dolphins in games played in Miami, and have lost their last three visits to Hard Rock Stadium.

-New England's last win in Miami was on Sept. 15, 2019 when the Pats blew out the Dolphins, 43-0.

-The Dolphins have swept their season series against the Pats 14 times, while the Pats have swept the Dolphins 10 times.

-Bill Belichick is 27-20 against Miami as head coach of the Patriots.

Connections

-Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa were teammates at Alabama (Mac took over for an injured Tua down the stretch in 2019 and led the Crimson Tide to a Citrus Bowl victory). Jones also threw passes to Miami's Jaylen Waddle at Alabama.

-There are five former Dolphins on the New England roster: WR DeVante Parker, TE Mike Gesicki, DL Davon Godchaux, LB Raekwon McMillon (IR), and LB Calvin Munson. 

-The Dolphins have their share of former Patriots on their roster too: P Jake Bailey, CB Justin Bethel, DB Keion Crossen, WR Raleigh Webb, and T Isaiah Wynn. Wynn was placed on IR on Tuesday, so he won't be participating in this weekend's game.

-Former Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich was on the Dolphins roster in Week 2 but was released last week. Winovich announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday.

-The Dolphins also have a handful of former Patriots throughout their organization in GM Chris Grier, Offensive Assistant Mike Judge, and WR Coach Wes Welker. 

Everything else you should know

-Through seven weeks, the Dolphins tout the NFL's highest-scoring offense at 34.3 points per game. The Patriots rank 31st at a lowly 14.2 points per game.

-The Dolphins also rank first in total offense (462.3 yards per game), rush offense (162.3 yards per game), and passing offense (300.0 yards per game).

-The Patriots' defense has cracked the Top 10 in total defense, allowing just 311.3 yards per game. But they rank 24th in points allowed at 25.3 points per game. (Miami ranks 21st at 345.3 yards per game and 27th at 26.7 points per game, respectively.)

-Kendrick Bourne has 16 receptions over the last two games (10 against the Raiders and six against the Bills) for the best two-game stretch of his career. He leads New England with 34 receptions and is on pace for a career-high 83 receptions and 899 yards on the year.

-Mac Jones was 25-for-30 against the Bills for a .833 completion percentage. Can he do that again against the Dolphins?

Jones has already had back-to-back games with a completion percentage over 80 once before, accomplishing the feat against Cleveland (.826) and Atlanta (.846) during the 2021 season. 

-Pats rookie punter Bryce Baringer has 18 punts inside the 20 this season, tying him for the league lead with Jacksonville's Logan Cooke.

-Tight end Pharaoh Brown has had a knack for big plays this season. He had two more receptions of 20-plus yards against the Bills to go with his 58-yard touchdown against the Jets in Week 3, and is averaging 27.4 yards per reception.

Stanley Morgan has the highest average in a season for the Patriots, averaging 23.4 yards on his 44 catches in 1981.

-Tyreek Hill caught his first touchdown against the Patriots as a member of the Dolphins back in Week 2. He's now up to six touchdowns in seven regular-season meetings with New England.

Hill has 17 receptions for 189 yards in three games against the Patriots with Miami.

-Tagovailoa is 5-0 against the Patriots, completing 68.84 percent of his passes and averaging 195 passing yards per game. He's thrown four touchdowns and run for three others, to three interceptions against New England.

Tune in to Patriots-Dolphins on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots! Coverage begins Wednesday night with Patriots 1st Down on TV38 at 9:30 p.m., and continues Friday night with Patriots All Access on WBZ at 7 p.m. Sunday's coverage kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, the Pats and the Dolphins will square off at 1 p.m., and after the game switch to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!