New England Patriots to face Miami Dolphins – NFL Week 17 Preview
New England Patriots will play against their American Football Conference (AFC) East rivals Miami Dolphins in Week 17 game on Sunday, December 30, 2012, at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA.
Patriots recently defeated Jacksonville Jaguars by 23-16. In first quarter, Jaguars were leading the game, Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 25-yard field goal and started their score.
Gostkowski played really well and kicked two more field goals of 49 yards and 38 yards in second and third quarter respectively.
Jaguars defence made good efforts to stop Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. He got sacked thrice and threw two interceptions in the game.
Brady threw two touchdown passes to running back Danny Woodhead (14 yards) and wide receiver Wes Welker (2 yards) in second and fourth quarter respectively.
Talking about their performances in next games, Brady said:
"We've got to do a better job. We've got some pretty important weeks of football ahead, and that's when we really need to play our best."
Brady completed 24 of 41 passes for 267 yards and scored two touchdowns. He is ranked 4th in the National Football League (NFL) 2012 season in touchdowns (32) and yards (4,543).
According to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick,
"You can't be totally oblivious to the possibilities that exist out there. There are quite a few possibilities. It's really hard to be specific on something like that when there are so many possibilities."
Patriots have won 11 and lost four games, and they are the leaders of AFC East.
On the other hand, Dolphins are standing at second position in the division and they have won seven and lost eight games.
Recently, Dolphins won two straight games. According to running back Reggie Bush, their struggling period has left behind.
He said:
"Our offense is really getting into a rhythm. I feel like now we've kind of hit that stride where everybody is on the same page, our chemistry is good, our defense is playing well, and it feels good."
Dolphins defeated their AFC East rivals Buffalo Bills by 24-10 on December 23. They left Bills offence stranded till the first three quarters of the game.
Bush gave a breakout performance in the game. He carried the ball 19 times for 65 yards and scored a touchdown. At the moment, he needs 40 more yards to complete his 1,000 yards in the season.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown to Bush in the game. The quarterback completed 13 of 25 passes for 130 yards without making any interception.
Defeating Bills was not tough for Dolphins, considering their 5-10 record. By winning this game, Dolphins cannot reach at first position in the division, but they can finish the season on a positive note.
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