The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 2 matchup between the Patriots and Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.
Find a breakdown of every Week 2 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
Miami | Rank | @ | New England | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
-2.5 | Spread | 2.5 | ||
24.5 | Implied Total | 22.0 | ||
36.0 | 3 | Points/Gm | 20.0 | 15 |
34.0 | 29 | Points All./Gm | 25.0 | 24 |
65.0 | 14 | Plays/Gm | 78.0 | 1 |
76.0 | 30 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 61.0 | 12 |
8.2 | 1 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.9 | 12 |
5.7 | 29 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.1 | 11 |
30.77% | 29 | Rush% | 28.21% | 30 |
69.23% | 4 | Pass% | 71.79% | 3 |
52.63% | 25 | Opp. Rush % | 40.98% | 13 |
47.37% | 8 | Opp. Pass % | 59.02% | 20 |
- Miami had a league-high 23 plays gain 10 or more yards in Week 1 and eight plays of 20 or more yards.
- The Dolphins had a first down or touchdown on a league-high 51.1% of their passing plays in Week 1.
- The Dolphins created a first down on 42.6% of their early-down plays, the highest rate in Week 1.
- The Patriots generated a first down on 29.3% of their early-down plays, fifth in the league Week 1.
- Tua Tagovailoa‘s 466 passing yards were the most in Week 1 since Tom Brady's 517 yards in 2011.
- Tyreek Hill‘s 215 receiving yards were the most in Week 1 since Anquan Boldin's 217 yards in 2003.
- Miami averaged 2.4 yards fewer per rushing play than their opponent, the worst rate in the league in Week 1.
- The Miami defense posted a 34.4% success rate on running back runs, the lowest rate in the league.
- 95% of the rushing attempts against Miami in Week 1 gained positive yardage, the highest rate in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa: Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel rectified their showing in L.A. from 2022 on Sunday, with Tua pacing the fantasy position (27.1 points).
Tagovailoa will look to topple another obstacle this week against a New England defense that has thrown a lot at him early in his career.
In four career starts against the Patriots, Tagovailoa has yet to finish higher than QB15 or throw more than one touchdown pass.
In his lone start against New England last season, Tua was efficient, connecting on 23-of-33 passes for 270 yards (8.2 Y/A). But with just one touchdown, he ended that week as the QB20 (14.8 points).
In that game, New England respected all the speed Miami had wide receiver. The Patriots played man coverage just 28.9% of the time, below their base rate of 34.5%. They played less man coverage in just three other games all season.
Even with Tua out in the Week 17 matchup between these teams, New England played man coverage just 13.0% of the time.
The Patriots played man coverage on a league-high 49.2% of plays in Week 1. The league average was 22.7%.
When the Chargers played any man coverage in Week 1, Tua threw for 11.1 yards per pass attempt.
The Patriots were game in Week 1 against an Eagles offense that was one of the best in the league a year ago.
They held the Eagles to just 4.3 yards per passing play after they were third in the league with 7.1 yards per passing play in 2022.
Even giving Bill Belichick and the New England defense respect, Tua has shown too much upside when this offense is at its apex to treat him as anything other than a QB1 option.
To continue reading this article
and gain access to The Worksheet and all of Rich's regular content, including positional rankings and chats, click below to purchase our season-long fantasy package.
Purchase