New England Patriots again have their hands full in Week 2 of 2023 NFL season
After having to deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season, they get to face off against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
The New England Patriots have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this year, and they already have a tough divisional matchup in Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season. The Dolphins are a scary football team, and the Patriots will again have their hands full. In Week 1, they did give the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles a tough game, but fell short.
Well, they'll have to deal with an even better offense in Week 2 as they face the Dolphins, who casually put up 36 points in Week 1, as they took down the Los Angeles Chargers. It's not a fun stretch of games for the Pats, and even though many are claiming moral victories for New England in Week 1, those "victories" simply don't matter if the team loses the game.
There were some encouraging aspects of the Patriots' Week 1 game, including some pretty nice performances from the 2023 rookie class, but there's a different beast coming to down in Week 2. The Miami Dolphins are a more explosive offense than the Eagles. And what's even scarier is the Dolphins' pass catchers, namely Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
In Week 1, Tyreek Hill had another career day. He caught 11 passes for a whopping 215 yards and two touchdowns. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns. What is worth noting is the Chargers' defense is pretty bad, so I don't anticipate the Patriots letting the Dolphins score 36 points and have nearly 500 passing yards.
But just think about this scenario for a second. It's wise to bet that the Dolphins win in Week 2, and if that's the case, they go to 2-0 while the Patriots fall to 0-2. The Buffalo Bills and New York Jets face off in Week 1 on Monday night. If the Bills were to win, they'd have a really good shot at starting 2-0, as they face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2.
All I'm saying is that it's not out of the question for the New England Patriots to be staring down the barrel of being two games behind in the division after just two weeks of games. Week 2 is a huge game for the team, and I don't think the Dolphins care about the Pats' moral victories in Week 1.