But this season, through Week 11, the Patriots have just a two-game lead in the AFC East over the surging Dolphins, winners of five-straight games, and it could get a little tighter thanks to the coaching job done by Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
This isn’t to say the Patriots’ reign atop the AFC East is in danger, because their schedule down the stretch—28th-most difficult according to
FootballOutsiders.com; Miami is 19th—makes them the prohibitive favorite, but it could get interesting. The Dolphins have the 49ers, Ravens (away), Cardinals and Jets (away) the next four weeks. The Patriots have the Jets (away), Rams, Ravens and Broncos (away). Given the way the Dolphins tend to play close games (they are 19th with plus-2 net points) against everyone, and the Patriots’ evolving issues on defense, the next month could shake out a number of different ways.
