Patriots: Ranking the 2020 regular season opponents

12. Miami Dolphins (AWAY – Week 15)

Here’s a good question: Who will be the starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins for this game?

It’s fair to assume that veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick will be under center for the Fins in their Week 1 matchup against the Pats. But what about Week 15?

Even if Miami is having a better season in 2020 than they did in 2019, you’d have to think there’s a decent chance that head coach Brian Flores turns over the reins to former Alabama Crimson Tide QB Tua Tagovailoa by this point.

The Dolphins didn’t select Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick last month just to let him ride the pine forever. They’d be wise to keep him there for a while and let him learn behind an experienced starter like Fitzpatrick, but eventually, this team should become Tua’s team.

Will it have happened by Week 15? Who knows…

The Patriots have traditionally struggled going down to Miami over the past 10 years. Of course, the narrative changed last season when they blew the doors off the Dolphins at Hard Rock in Week 2 by a 43-0 margin only to lose at home in Week 17 by three points.

How much will Brady’s departure affect the psyche of this team on its South Beach voyages? While Brady wasn’t the only Patriot who played poorly in a number of trips down to Florida, he was certainly the most notable. (And now, ironically, he will play all his home games in Florida with the Buccaneers.)

New England could very well lose this game. On paper though, it makes sense to include it among the Patriots’ five most winnable contests — especially after looking at the other 11 games on New England’s schedule.