Gordon looks able to carry it. He ran for 103 yards and a score against the Jets, and Miami scored on its first 2 drives coming off the bye. The win was Jeff Hafley's first as head coach and spared the Dolphins their first 0-6 start since 2019. It also nearly slipped away. Miami led 28-17 with 4:44 left and let the Jets score to make it 28-25 with 3:24 to go before Willis's sneak closed it out. One win over the Jets doesn't fix the season, but the offense finally looked like it had a plan.
The schedule favors New England. The Patriots played on Thursday night, so they get 10 days before kickoff at 4:25 PM ET, while Miami is on a regular week after its trip to New Jersey. Weather could matter too. The forecast is 86 degrees and partly cloudy, which is a lot for a team coming from a Chicago night game, especially with a short-handed defense that may be on the field a lot if Gordon keeps running well.
New England's pass catchers are deep. Hunter Henry caught all 7 of his targets for 71 yards in Chicago, Rhamondre Stevenson turned 5 catches into 93 yards and a touchdown, and A.J. Brown is still the receiver defenses plan around. Maye has plenty of options. Whether he has enough time to use them depends on the interior line, and that is the matchup to watch.
The case for an upset is simple. Willis is playing clean football, Gordon can keep Maye on the sideline, and New England's corners are still hurt. The case against it is simpler. Before last week Miami had lost 4 straight, and the Jets nearly came back on a defense that should have closed the game. The Patriots have the better quarterback, the extra rest and the more complete roster. They also lost 35-6 in Jacksonville a month ago, so nothing is guaranteed in South Florida.