GAME SUMMARY
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (0-0) VS. MIAMI DOLPHINS (0-0)
Sunday, September 12, 2021 • Gillette Stadium (65,878) • 4:25 p.m. ET
The New England Patriots will begin the 2021 regular season at home against the Miami Dolphins for the second straight season, and will begin the year with a home game on kickoff weekend for the fifth consecutive season. It will be the 10th time the Patriots open the year against Miami. The last time the Patriots opened the season two years in a row against the same opponent was in 1988 and 1989 against the New York Jets.
The Patriots will open and close the season with Miami, marking the sixth time in team history the team will open and close the season against the same opponent. It also happened in 2003 and 2013 against Buffalo, 1974 and 1987 against Miami and 1981 against the Baltimore Colts.
SERIES HISTORY
The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins will square off for the first of two scheduled meetings and on opening day for the 10th time in team history and for the second straight season after the 21-11 season-opening win vs. Miami on Sept. 13, 2020. The Patriots and Dolphins will meet for the second time in the regular season finale at Miami on Jan. 9, 2022. The two teams have split the series in each of the last four seasons. The Patriots have had the upper hand at home against Miami, holding a 36-18 record in games played in New England in the regular season, including a 16-3 record at Gillette Stadium. But the Patriots are 17-39 all-time in Miami, including two postseason contests. Miami beat New England at Gillette Stadium for the first time in the final game of the 2005 season. The Dolphins and Patriots met for the first time in 1966 and began playing twice a year during the 1967 regular season, except in 1982 during a players’ strike. The two have played three times in the postseason with New England holding a 2-1 advantage.
MIAMI 57, NEW ENGLAND 54
(Including New England 2, Miami 1 in Playoffs)
Record in New England 37-18 (Incl. 1-0 in playoffs)
Record in Foxborough 35-16 (1-0)
Record in Boston 2-2
Record in Miami 17-39 (Incl. 1-1 in playoffs)
Record at Dolphins / Hard Rock 13-21
Record at Orange Bowl 3-18 (1-1)
Record in Tampa* 1-0
Season Sweeps Patriots 10, Dolphins 13
Season Splits 30 (Most recent 2020)
Bill Belichick vs. Miami 26-18 (26-16 with New England)
*A Miami home game was played in Tampa in 1969
QUICK HITS
• Since Bill Belichick became Patriots head coach in 2000, New England is 26-16 (.619) against Miami.
• Since 2000, the Patriots are 96-34 (.738) against AFC East opponents. New England is 26-16 against the Dolphins over that span, 32-10 against the New York Jets and 35-7 against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots were 3-1 against Indianapolis from 2000 through 2001 when they were in the AFC East.
What to look for this Week
IF THE PATRIOTS WIN…
• The Patriots will claim their 36th Kickoff Weekend victory in franchise history, third-most among all AFC teams. Additionally, New England will claim its fourth straight kickoff victory.
• The Patriots will improve their regular season divisional record to 95-28 since 2001, the best mark in the NFL.
• The franchise will earn its 557th overall victory, third-most in pro football since the club began play in 1960.
• And hold the advantage at halftime, the Patriots will improve to 103-1 all-time at Gillette Stadium when leading at the half.
• And a player eclipses 100 yards rushing, the team will improve to 54-3 since the 2000 regular season when a player rushes for at least 100 yards.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR…
• With rookie free agent K Quinn Nordin making the 53-man roster, the Patriots have now had a rookie free agent make the opening day roster for the 18 straight seasons.
• The Patriots have gone 86 straight games (regular season and postseason) scoring in the first half, an NFL record. The Patriots also own the second-longest streak at 82 games with a first half score (2006-11). The last time the Patriots failed to score in the first half was a 16-0 loss at home against Buffalo on Oct. 2, 2016.
• The Patriots are 102-1 all-time at Gillette Stadium in the regular season when leading at halftime. New England’s only loss was on Sept. 7, 2017 when the Patriots held a 17-14 lead at halftime before losing 42-17 to the Kansas City Chiefs on opening day of the 2017 season.
Head Coach Bill Belichick
IF THE PATRIOTS WIN…
• Belichick will improve to 19-8 (.704) on Kickoff Weekend. His 18 wins are the most among active head coaches. Belichick, Kansas City’s Andy Reid (14-8, .636) and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh (10-3, .769) are the only active head coaches with at least 10 Kickoff Weekend wins.
• Belichick will improve his all-time regular season record against the AFC East as head coach of the Patriots to 97-34 (.740).
WHAT TO LOOK FOR…
• Belichick begins his 22nd season as head coach of the New England Patriots with a 274-103 (.727) record (including postseason), the best mark in the NFL over that span.
• Belichick’s 311 career victories as a heads coach (including postseason) are third-most all-time behind George Halas (324) and Don Shula (347).
• Belichick enters his 47th season as an NFL coach in 2021. His 47 consecutive years as an NFL coach are the most in NFL history, passing the 45 by Dick LeBeau. The only other NFL coach with at least 40 consecutive NFL coaching seasons is Tom Moore.
UNDER COACH BELICHICK, QUARTERBACKS ARE 6-0 IN FIRST CAREER STARTS
Under Head Coach Bill Belichick, quarterbacks are 6-0 in their first career starts. Of those six quarterbacks, Eric Zeier and Jacoby Brissett made their first starts in their rookie seasons.
QB Game Score
Todd Philcox Cleveland at LA Raiders (9/20/92) 28-16 (W)
Eric Zeier Cleveland at Cincinnati (10/29/95) 29-26 (W)
Tom Brady Patriots vs. Indianapolis (9/30/01) 44-13 (W)
Matt Cassel Patriots at NY Jets (9/14/08) 19-10 (W)
Jimmy Garoppolo Patriots at Arizona (9/11/16) 23-21 (W)
Jacoby Brissett Patriots vs. Houston (9/22/16) 27-0 (W)
