The Patriots are underdogs against Miami for the first time in years
After losing three in a row against the Dolphins, New England is an underdog in this week's opener.
Last year, the Dolphins swept the Patriots for the first time during the Bill Belichick era.
Miami has beaten New England in their last three matchups. A loss on Sunday would mark the first time the Patriots have lost to an opponent four times in a row under Belichick, according to ESPN.
This week, the Patriots are set to kick off the regular season as 3-point underdogs against Miami according to DraftKings Sportsbook. It’s the first time the Patriots haven’t been favored to beat the Dolphins ahead of a matchup between the two division rivals since December of 2013.
It’s also the first time since 2016 that the Patriots aren’t favored to win a season-opener, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Dolphins will look different this year with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa, new head coach Mike McDaniel, and Tyreek Hill who was acquired from Kansas City in the offseason.
The Patriots are running a new offense after longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to coach the Raiders. Much of the defensive core remains the same.
The Bills have won the past two division titles. Prior to that, the Patriots won the AFC East for 11 years in a row.
The Patriots finished second in the division last year, losing to Buffalo in the wild card round.
Last month, Draft Kings projected the Patriots’ win total at 8.5, which is third in the division behind the Bills and Dolphins.
That would mark a decent-sized step back from last year, when the Patriots went 10-7 during Mac Jones’s rookie season.
Still, Belichick has won his last five games against first-year head coaches and has a chance to improve that mark against McDaniel this week.
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