Sunday, December 30, 2012

Week 17 AFC East game picks: Dolphins at Patriots

Lead writer Nick St. Denis and AFC East Daily contributors Dan Begnoche and Sean Donovan pick the Miami Dolphins' AFC East bout at the New England Patriots.

Nick's take:
The Dolphins have a way of giving the Patriots fits no matter what the current state of either team is. Miami made some big-time mistakes when the teams met earlier this season, yet it still was in the game until its defensive linemen got offended by New England's rushing success in the fourth quarter. The Pats build off of that work on the ground en route to another feather in their AFC East cap.
Prediction: Patriots 24, Dolphins 14 (Nick's record: 36-13)

Sean's take:
The Patriots' offense looks to re-gain its stride against the Dolphins, a team that did a good job slowing down Tom Brady back in Week 13. Miami struggles to duplicate that effort on defense and has a sputtering offensive performance in the chilly New England climate. The Patriots coast to victory behind a dominant effort via the ground game.
Prediction: Patriots 27, Dolphins 10 (Sean's record: 39-10)

Dan's take:
The Pats are still fighting for one of the top two spots in the conference, so expect a full starting squad and perhaps a return for Rob Gronkowski. The Dolphins didn’t roll over by any means in their first meeting with the division champs, but a win is too important here. The Pats get their sixth straight win over Miami with a much better performance by Brady.
Prediction: Patriots 38, Dolphins 24 (Dan's record: 29-20)