Miami Dolphins (7-9) at New England Patriots (13-3)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)
FanDuel odds: Patriots -11.5, Total 44.5
Series Rewind: New England claimed a 33-27 win at Miami on Sept. 14, the Patriots’ first win over the Dolphins in three seasons.
The Patriots can win 14 games in a season for the first time since 2016 when they won Super Bowl LI and can clinch the top seed in the AFC plaoyffs with a win over the Dolphins and a loss or tie by the Denver Broncos against the L.A. Chargers. New England would like this pursuit to be its sole focus but has been dealing with legal issues surrounding two key players — receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive tackle Christian Barmore. The Patriots were fresh off celebrating their first division title since 2019 when reports surfaced of Diggs facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation, and misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from an incident that took place on Dec. 2. Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23. In an unrelated incident, Barmore faces a misdemeanor charge of one count of assault and battery on a family/household member alleged to have occurred on Aug. 8. New England coach Mike Vrabel said before the team’s practice Wednesday he hadn’t heard anything that would keep either player from being available to play against Miami, though Diggs’ status for the postseason remains unclear. The Patriots’ tumultuous week came after a stress-free 42-10 victory over the New York Jets during which quarterback Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes. Maye threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another in Week 2 when the Patriots beat the Dolphins 33-27 in Miami. Since being eliminated from postseason consideration, the Dolphins have turned their focus toward their future over the past two weeks. That has included benching starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Rookie Quinn Ewers is expected to make his third career start — and first on the road — on Sunday. After struggling during a 45-21 loss to Cincinnati in which he threw two interceptions, Ewers bounced back last week and led Miami to a 20-17 win over Tampa Bay. Ewers tossed his first two touchdown passes, committed no turnovers and completed 14 of 22 passes for 172 yards.