South Florida Problematic For Patriots

Bob George

Sep 6, 2014 at 12:44am ET

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Honk if you're old enough to remember The Jinx.

It's never fun for the Patriots to head to Miami. Be it the old Orange Bowl or the stadium now currently known as Sun Life Stadium, when the Patriots come down to sunny, hot and humid south Florida, the Dolphins usually come away with a win. It was here in 2013 where it was determined that the Patriots would play the AFC Championship Game in Denver and not Foxborough, and that's only one game in a long line of disappointments for the Patriots.

This isn't as bad as Denver, but it's definitely not a gimme win for the 2014 Patriots in their season opener on Sunday. Bill Belichick elected to bring the team down here a day earlier than normal so the team can adjust to the heat and humidity of the area. It's too bad that the Patriots don't take the high altitude in Denver that seriously and head there early when they have to play there.

Expectations for the 2014 Patriots are perhaps the highest they have been since their last Super Bowl win a decade ago. The defense is bolstered with newcomers like Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner (who won't play until Week 5 thanks to a suspension), and the return of Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo. Tom Brady has a rich arsenal of receivers to throw to, none the least of which is Rob Gronkowski, assuming he is really cleared to play.

But the schedule maker put the Patriots here for the opener. On paper, the Patriots should have their way with the Dolphins. But this is at Miami, and it's during the hottest and most humid time of the year. It's bad enough that Brady has had some of his worst games here in Miami. Now here, you have the euphoria of opening day and the promise this season brings, and the Patriots could very well be looking at 0-1 come Sunday night.

Naturally, no one wants to hear about this. So, we'll let the record plead our case.

Tom Brady has had his share of frustration in Miami over his great career.
(USA TODAY Images)

2001: This was Brady's first road start and second overall of his career. But this was also the "bury the football" game, as Miami steamrolled over New England, 30-10 to drop the Patriots to 1-3. Brady threw for only 86 yards passing. Belichick was so disgusted over this game that at the first practice the following week, he took the game ball and buried it, a symbol of putting the game behind them.

2002: Dolphins overpower the Patriots, 26-13, the game played in early October. Brady was 17 of 31 for 240 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

2003: This was a struggle for the eventual Super Bowl champs. The Patriots won thanks to lousy field goal kicking by Olindo Mare and Brady hitting Troy Brown with an 82-yard touchdown bomb in overtime.

2004: This game was to Brady the equivalent of Koji Uehara Thursday night against the Yankees. This game didn't cost the eventual Super Bowl champs home field throughout the playoffs, but it did spare the Patriots from being the first 15-1 team to play a road playoff game in league history. Up 28-23 with 1:52 left, Brady threw a lousy interception to Brendon Ayanbadejo, which led to a touchdown pass from A.J. Feeley to Derrius Thompson to give the Dolphins the lead. Brady had 1:17 to get in position for a game-winning field goal, but on consecutive plays he is sacked by David Bowens and picked by Arturo Freeman to clinch the win for Miami. To this day it remains one of the more shocking losses of the Brady era.

2006: Ugh. This game was in December. When it's balmy. Yet the Dolphins shut out the eventual AFC runner-up Patriots, 21-0. The Miami defense was stifling, not the weather. Brady was 12 of 25 for 78 yards and was outdueled by (gulp) Joey Harrington.

2009: This game is not included in the NFL Network's A Football Life profile of Belichick. Good thing, the Patriots went down to Miami, again in December when it's nice out, and lost 22-21. Brady threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns, but also suffered two picks.

2011: We'll take this result. 2007 would be nice also. Brady goes completely nuts, throws for 517 yards and four touchdowns on opening night. Wes Welker caught two of the touchdown passes, one of which went for as long as it can go, the only 99-yard touchdown pass in team history. With all this offensive dominance, the Patriots still won by only two touchdowns.

2013: Denver had given the Patriots an early Christmas present. A Thursday night loss at San Diego put the top playoff seed for the AFC in the hands of the Patriots, who would win a tiebreaker with Denver based on head-to-head. Win out and the road to the Super Bowl goes through Foxborough. Instead, the Patriots stumble and bumble their way to a 24-20 loss at Miami three days later, and Denver would wind up the conference champs by beating the Patriots at home. This game was the most damaging loss at Miami in the Brady era.

For those of you who don't know about The Jinx, it really has no bearing on Sunday, but it is worth mentioning for the sake of how hard it is for the Patriots to win in Miami. In their first ever meeting, in 1966 at the Orange Bowl, the Boston Patriots beat Miami 20-14. The Patriots would not win again in Miami until the 1985 AFC Championship Game, beating the Dolphins 31-14 on their way to Super Bowl XX (The Patriots did win at the Dolphins in 1969, but that game was played in Tampa). The Patriots lost 18 straight at Miami, including postseason. Following the AFC Championship Game win, the Patriots came back the next year and clinched the 1986 AFC East title with a 34-27 win in the last game the Patriots would play at the Orange Bowl. The Patriots did indeed pick a good time to finally end that darned jinx.

The Patriots overall are 15-34 at Miami in their history. They are 11-16 at Sun Life Stadium. They are 46-51 all-time against Miami. On the plus side, Belichick is 18-10 versus Miami as Patriots head coach. And yes, despite all this negative history in Miami, the Patriots can dial it up on occasion down south. From 2007 to 2011, the Patriots were 4-1 in Miami and scoring 176 points in the four wins, an average of 44 points per game.

But with expectations so high for 2014, this is a crummy place to begin the season, especially when you recall 2013. You could do worse, just ask a Packers fan. Or the Patriots could be opening up in Denver.

It's really quite simple. If the Patriots don't wilt in the heat and play like they did against Carolina two weeks ago, they should win. If they play like last year, well, it might not ruin this season like last year, but it won't help.

At least it's time for football, Patriots style. One world champ is about to be put to sleep up yonder in Boston. It's time for another one to arise and begin its season on a winning note.