Bill Belichick borrowed Matt Patricia’s shade idea for Miami game

Facing brutal temperatures, humidity, and a high heat index, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots stayed cool last Sunday thanks to Matt Patricia.

The New England Patriots incinerated the Miami Dolphins 43-0 on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to Bill Belichick’s willingness to borrow a novel idea from an old friend, the Patriots also weren’t the ones getting incinerated on the sidelines, either.

Belichick told reporters after the game that he spoke to ex-defensive coordinator and current Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia during joint practices this summer, and one of the topics that came up was the Patriots’ early-season trip to Miami Gardens in Week 2. Noting the possibility of extremely high temperatures and humidity, Patricia evidently made a friendly suggestion to his former boss, per NBC Sports Bostons’ Darren Hartwell:

“The canopy thing was something that Matt [Patricia] did last year when he went down and they played the Dolphins in Miami,” Belichick said during a Monday conference call with reporters. “In training camp we were out there and talked about it a little bit, so I felt like it would be something worth trying, and we did during the game.”

The Patriots essentially had staffers erect moveable tent canopies over the visitors’ sideline. Faced with the prospect of temperatures in the 90s and over 65% humidity – not to mention having their sideline spotlighted in direct South Florida sunlight – New England players at least had the benefit of sitting in shade when they weren’t on the field.

Both Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady noted that Sunday’s game was one of the hottest that either one of them could remember being in… which is notable, since the two living legends have been doing this whole football thing for well over 20 years now (particularly Belichick).

It’s an interesting competitive advantage to unpack every time these two teams meet, especially if those meetings occur at certain points of the year.

The Dolphins wore white uniforms on Sunday, which better reflect the sunlight and heat… essentially forcing the Patriots into their home blues, which are darker and absorb more rays (and thus more heat as well). Miami’s sideline also remained relatively shade-obscured during the game, whereas New England’s visitor sideline was left to bake.

Conversely, if and when the Patriots get to host the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium in the winter – like they will on December 29 in Week 17 of this year – Miami players are forced to compete in unfamiliar elements like cold temperatures, high winds, and snow. Those conditions might be detrimental to football players accustomed to sunny skies and warm temperatures, but they’re absolutely routine to Patriots players who practice in those same conditions annually.