At a -8.5-point disadvantage, the Patriots are giant underdogs in this week’s game, indicating much more of a reliance on moving the ball through the air than their usual approach.
The predictive model expects the New England Patriots as the 8th-most pass-oriented offense on the slate this week with a 61.0% pass rate, accounting for their underlying play style and matchup dynamics.
The leading projections forecast the Patriots offense to be the 4th-fastest paced team in the league (in a neutral context) right now, averaging 26.32 seconds per play.
Mac Jones’s throwing precision has improved this year, with his Adjusted Completion% increasing from 64.5% to 68.9%.
This year, the anemic Miami Dolphins defense has yielded a staggering 256.0 adjusted yards per game through the air to opposing QBs: the 8th-worst in the league.
Cons
As it relates to pocket protection (and the significance it has on all air attack statistics), the offensive line of the Patriots profiles as the 10th-worst in football this year.
The Miami Dolphins safeties grade out as the best unit in the NFL this year in defending receivers.