Countdown To Kickoff | Dolphins vs. Patriots

Miami Dolphins (4-11) vs. New England Patriots (12-3)

Game Facts

DATE: Sunday, Dec. 29

TIME: 1:00 p.m. ET

SITE: Gillette Stadium; Foxborough, Mass.

WATCHING ONLINE: This season, fans will be able to watch games for FREE online with Yahoo! Sports through Dolphins.com on mobile web and the Dolphins app as long as the user is within the CBS broadcast radius. Links to watch will be available at the start of the game on both platforms. The NFL app also offers free streams for viewers in the local market.

TV: CBS

TV ANNOUNCERS: Greg Gumbel, play-by-play; Trent Green, color analyst; Melanie Collins, sideline reporter

DOLPHINS RADIO NETWORK: KISS (99.9 FM); WQAM (560 AM); WQBA (1140 AM-Spanish)

RADIO VOICES: English broadcast — Jimmy Cefalo, Bob Griese, Joe Rose, Kim Bokamper; Spanish broadcast — Roly Martin, Eduardo Martell

The Series

SERIES RECORD: Miami leads 55-53 (including playoffs)

AT MIAMI: Dolphins lead 38-16

AT NEW ENGLAND: Patriots lead 36-17

AT TAMPA: Patriots lead 1-0

LAST MEETING: 2019 at Miami; Patriots 43, Dolphins 0

SERIES TREND: The Bengals have won the past two meetings after the Dolphins had won three in a row, including the famous 22-20 overtime victory on Halloween night 2013.

HISTORY LESSON: This will mark the 15th time the Dolphins close out the regular season against New England. The 15 matchups are the most season finales against any opponent, with the New York Jets second with 12 games. The Dolphins and Patriots have ended the regular season with a matchup at Foxborough seven times, with three of those games (in 1992, 1993 and 2002) going to overtime. Read more Dolphins-Bills Matchup Memories here.

SERIES TREND: The Patriots have won seven of the past 10 meetings, but the Dolphins are 3-1 in the past four games decided by seven points or less going back to 2013.

Scouting Report

NEW ENGLAND'S RECORD: 12-3

LAST GAME: Beat Buffalo 24-17

OVERVIEW: The defending Super Bowl champions clinched their 11th consecutive AFC East title last weekend with their victory against the Bills and will be looking Sunday to earn a first-round bye for a 10th consecutive year. It's the defense that has led the way for New England this season, with the Patriots ranking No. 1 in the NFL in fewest yards allowed per game and per play, highest interception rate and third-down defense. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who is tied for the league lead in interceptions with six, is considered among the leading candidates for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. It's been a team effort on that Patriots defense, though. New England has five players with at least five sacks, and safety Devin McCourty trails Gilmore by only one interception. The New England offense maybe hasn't been quite as dynamic as in years past, but it's still capable of putting up big numbers. Tom Brady has had six games with a passer rating of under 81 this season, but he came through with a big performance against Buffalo last Saturday when he was 26-for-33 for 271 yards with a touchdown, no interceptions and a rating of 111.0. Wide receiver Julian Edelman needs three catches to reach 100 for the second time in his career and leads the team in touchdown receptions with six. The other player to watch in the passing game is running back James White, who has 69 catches with four touchdowns. Sony Michel leads the running game with 838 yards and six touchdowns. On special teams, the Patriots have blocked four punts in 2019. Bill Belichick, now in his 20th season as Patriots head coach, joined Dolphins Hall of Famer Don Shula and George Halas earlier this season as the only coaches to reach 300 career victories.

KEY NEW FACES: WR N'Keal Harry (draft-1st round), CB Joejuan Williams (draft-2nd), DL Chase Winovich (draft-3rd), QB Jarrett Stidham (draft-4th), P Jake Bailey (draft-5th), RB Brandon Bolden (Miami), LB Jamie Collins Sr. (Cleveland), OL Jermaine Eluemunor (Baltimore), K Nick Folk, WR Mohamed Sanu (Atlanta), Justin Bethel (Baltimore), TE Ben Watson (New Orleans)

KEY VETERANS GONE: TE Rob Gronkowski, WR Josh Gordon, DE Trey Flowers, DT Malcom Brown, RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson, TE Dwayne Allen, QB Brian Hoyer, P Ryan Allen, C David Andrews (IR), K Stephen Gostkowski (IR), FB James Develin (IR)

Final Injury Report