Hitting the road to face the Miami Dolphins has been anything but easy for the New England Patriots over the past 11 years.
Since 2013, New England is 2-9 against the Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Fla., where the Patriots will attempt to pick up a rare win on Sunday afternoon.
First-year coach Jerod Mayo has been in the thick of New England’s struggles in the Sunshine State. He spent his entire playing career (2008-15) with the Patriots, then served as inside linebackers coach from 2019-23 before taking over at the helm.
Mayo is making sure that New England (3-8) leaves the past in the past come Sunday, though.
“First and foremost, I won’t address it with the guys as far as the struggles that we’ve had in Miami, even though they’re probably listening to me right now,” Mayo said. “But what I will say is every game is unique. … It’s a tough place to play. It’s not that it’s super loud or anything like that.
“We just haven’t been able to get over the hump.”
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, has given Mayo a reason to believe that New England can turn the corner against Miami (4-6). Maye continued to take steps in the right direction by completing 29 of 39 passes for 282 yards, two touchdowns and one interception during a 28-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday.
Dolphins signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa has been impressed with what he has seen from the 22-year-old Maye so far and is eager to go up against him.
“I respect his game. I respect his game a lot,” Tagovailoa said. “He’s a rookie, so there’s gonna be bumps within his journey. But you see a lot of flashes of things that he can do, not just inside the pocket, outside of the pocket as well.
“I got a lot of respect for him, and looking forward to competing against him.”
Tagovailoa most recently threw for 288 yards and three scores on 28-for-36 passing Miami’s 34-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday. One of his favorite targets was former New England tight end Jonnu Smith, who hauled in six catches for 101 yards and two TDs.
Miami has rattled off back-to-back wins on the heels of a three-game losing streak that began after a 15-10 victory against the Patriots in Week 5.
“We’re looking to go out there and play the plays with what they’ve presented us over the years,” Tagovailoa said, referring to the Dolphins’ familiarity with New England’s game plan. “If we need to adjust in any way, we’ll adjust.”
Miami cornerback Kendall Fuller (concussion) was ruled out for the game on Friday. Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead (knee), fullback Alec Ingold (calf), guard Isaiah Wynn (quad/knee) and safety Patrick McMorris (calf) were listed as questionable.
In alarming injury news for the Patriots on Friday, cornerback Christian Gonzalez was limited in practice due to a hip ailment and was listed as questionable for Sunday. Nine other New England players were considered questionable, but defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (neck) will miss the contest.
