{"id":64181,"date":"2026-01-03T13:09:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=64181"},"modified":"2026-01-03T13:29:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:29:59","slug":"morse-week-18-preview-of-the-miami-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2026\/01\/03\/morse-week-18-preview-of-the-miami-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: Week 18 Preview of the Miami Dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 7-9 Dolphins have nothing to play for.\u00a0 They travel to New England in the dead of winter for a game that means nothing to them.\u00a0 It will be cold in the low 30s, and we all know how difficult it is for teams from Southern Florida to play up north late in the season.\u00a0 The Dolphins players just want to get this game over with, collect a paycheck, and get back to sunny Florida without any injuries. Originally scheduled for 1:00, the NFL flexed the start time to 4:00 to coincide with the Denver Broncos game, deciding who will get the #2 seed in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Quite frankly, I don\u2019t know how Mike McDaniel has lasted this long in Miami.<\/p>\n

Offense 3WR 1TE<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Miami Offense is ranked 25th<\/sup> overall, gaining 308.3 Yards Per Game (YPG).\u00a0 Passing they have 184.4 YPG which is also 25th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Rushing the tun for 123.8 YPG and 10th<\/sup> in the league.\u00a0 Scoring the get 21.1 Points Per Game, In the Red Zone are 57.8% which is 16th<\/sup>, and on 3rd<\/sup> down they are successful ay 34.6% which is 27th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nStarter<\/td>\n2nd<\/td>\n3rd<\/td>\n4th<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
QB<\/td>\nQuinn Ewers<\/td>\nZach Wilson<\/td>\nTua Tagovailoa<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RB<\/td>\nDe’Von Achane<\/td>\nJaylen Wright<\/td>\nOllie Gordon<\/td>\nAlexander Mattison IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nJaylen Waddle<\/td>\nTheo Wease<\/td>\nDee Eskridge IR<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nMalik Washington<\/td>\nTahj Washington<\/td>\nTyreek Hill IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nCedrick Wilson<\/td>\nNick Westbrook-Ikhine<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TE<\/td>\nDarren Waller<\/td>\nGreg Dulcich<\/td>\nJulian Hill<\/td>\nJalin Conyers IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FB<\/td>\nAlec Ingold<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LT<\/td>\nPatrick Paul<\/td>\nKendall Lamm<\/td>\nYodny Cajuste\u00a0IR<\/td>\nGermain Ifedi\u00a0IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LG<\/td>\nJonah Savaiinaea<\/td>\nDaniel Brunskill<\/td>\nLiam Eichenberg\u00a0O<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
C<\/td>\nAaron Brewer\u00a0Q<\/td>\nAndrew Meyer<\/td>\nDaniel Brunskill<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RG<\/td>\nCole\u00a0Strange<\/td>\nJames Daniels IR<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RT<\/td>\nAustin Jackson<\/td>\nLarry Borom<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rookie Quinn Ewers is in at QB for the Dolphins.\u00a0 Ewers played in 3 games, starting the last two.\u00a0 On the season, Ewers has completed 39 passes on 60 attempts at 65% completion %, for 485 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs.\u00a0 The 6\u20192\u201d, 232-pound QB played at Texas and lasted until he was selected by Miami in the 7th<\/sup> round (231) of the 2025 Draft. \u00a0Sunday will be Ewers’ 1st<\/sup> road start.\u00a0 His backup is Zach Wilson, and he recently picked up Cam Miller.\u00a0 I think this will be the last game Tua Tagovailoa will be on a Dolphins roster, and I don\u2019t expect him to dress for the game.<\/p>\n

De\u2019Von Archane is a beast at running back.\u00a0 He has missed all the practice this week with a shoulder injury and is Questionable for Sunday.\u00a0 The Patriots held him to under 50 yards in week 2.\u00a0 He leads the league in yards after 1st<\/sup> contact.\u00a0 On the season, he has 238 carries for 1350 yards, 5.7 YPC, 8 TDs, and 1 Fumble.\u00a0 That is way too many carries for a player that is undersized at 5\u20198\u201d, 188 pounds.\u00a0 Archane played at Texas A&M and was selected in the 2023 draft, 3rd<\/sup> round (85) by the Phins.\u00a0 He is a big threat out of the backfield with 67 receptions on 90 targets, 7.3 YPC, and 4 TDs.\u00a0 Jaylen Wright was supposed to lighten the load for Archane.\u00a0 The 5\u201911\u201d, 210-pound back out of Tennessee was drafted in the 2024 draft, 4th<\/sup> round (121) by Miami.\u00a0 On the season, he has 57 carries for 265 yards, 4.6 YPC, 2 TDs, and no Fumbles.\u00a0 Out of the backfield, he has 3 catches on 7 targets, for 27 yards, 9.0 YPC, and no TDs.\u00a0 He missed the first 6 games of the season and played in only 9 games.\u00a0 Rookie Ollie Gordon is a big back out of Oklahoma State.\u00a0 The 6\u20192\u201d, 225-pound back was selected by Miami in the 2025 draft, 6th round, 181.\u00a0 \u00a0On the season, he has 61 carries for 190 yards, 3.1 YPC, and 3 TDs, without a fumble.\u00a0 He has played every game this year for the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins utilize a fullback in Alec Ingold.\u00a0 He has just 2 carries for 9 yards.\u00a0 He does have 7 receptions on 9 targets for 49 yards, 7.0 YPC, and a TD.<\/p>\n

Tyreek Hill was the big threat for the Dolphins but he has been out on IR since week 5.\u00a0 Jaden Waddle is still dangerous, but the assortment of QBs the Phins have used has made him useless.\u00a0 On the season, he has 64 catches on 100 targets (only a 64% catch rate), 910 yards, 14.2 YPC, and 6 TDs.\u00a0 Could you imagine what a player like Waddle could do on the Patriots?\u00a0 Maik Washington is next up with 43 catches on 61 targets for 311 yards (7.2) YPC, and 2 TDs.\u00a0 It gets worse, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is the 3rd<\/sup> WR with just 11 catches on 20 targets for 89 yards, 8.1 YPC and no TDs.\u00a0 Combine Ewers’ mediocre yardage and the Phins’ mediocre receivers, and you have a recipe for disaster.\u00a0 \u00a0Stack the box, stop the run, and force Ewers into long down and distance.<\/p>\n

The Tight End group is pretty good with Darren Waller returning from retirement.\u00a0 Waller has 24 catches on 34 targets for 283 yards, 11.8 YPC, and 6 TDs.\u00a0 He has only played 9 games.\u00a0 Greg Dulcich was claimed off waivers from the Giants on cutdown day.\u00a0 He has appeared in 9 games also.\u00a0 On the season, he has 23 catches on 29 targets for 304 yards, 13.2 YPC, and 1 TD.\u00a0 Julian Hill is the 3rd<\/sup> TE and is more of a blocker.\u00a0 \u00a0He has 14 catches on 19 targets for 132 yards and 0 TDs.<\/p>\n

The Offensive line has been a mess for the Dolphins, even though Miami invested heavily in the draft on Linemen.\u00a0 Left Tackle Patrick Paul has improved from his rookie season, which could only be called disastrous.\u00a0 His PFF grade was 44.9 in 2024.\u00a0 It is very difficult for a rookie Left Tackle to be thrown into the fire and survive.\u00a0 In Comparison, Will Campbell has a 71.5 Grade from PFF, which is 33 \/ 86 Tackles.\u00a0 That\u2019s right at the midpoint of 64 starting tackles in the league.\u00a0 \u00a0Campbell has done this with a rookie Left Guard next to him.\u00a0 The 6\u20197\u201d, 325-pound Paul played for Houston and was selected in the 2024 2nd<\/sup> round (55) by Miami.\u00a0 His PFF grade is vastly improved to 65.5, 46th<\/sup> \/ 86 Tackles.\u00a0 He has given up 4 Sacks, 2 QB Hits, 18 Hurries, and 24 Pressures. \u00a0\u00a0Paul is now playing with a rookie Left Guard, Jonah Savaiinea.\u00a0 \u00a0The Arizona State product was high on the Patriots’ radar in this past draft and was rumored to be desiring to move up in the second round to take him.\u00a0 Good thing that Miami jumped ahead of them to take him.\u00a0 You thought Patrick Paul\u2019s rookie season was bad, Savaiinea has been much worse.\u00a0 The 6\u20195\u201d, 336-pound Guard was taken in the 2025 2nd<\/sup> round (37).\u00a0 His PFF grade is an abysmal 29.1, 80 \/ 80 Guards.\u00a0 On the season, he has given up 6 Sacks, 4 QB Hits, 32 Hurries, and 42 Pressures.<\/p>\n

Defense Base 4-3<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Dolphins defense gives up 342 YPG 21st<\/sup>, Passing 216.5 YPG18th<\/sup>, Run Defense 125.5 YPG 24th<\/sup>, Scoring 24.1 Points Per Game 21st<\/sup>, RedZone 57.9%, 17th<\/sup>, and 3rd<\/sup> Down 39.4% 13th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nStarter<\/td>\n2nd<\/td>\n3rd<\/td>\n4th<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LDE<\/td>\nChop\u00a0Robinson Q<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LDT<\/td>\nZach Sieler<\/td>\nKenneth Grant<\/td>\nMatthew Butler<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RDT<\/td>\nJordan \u00a0Phillips<\/td>\nZeek Biggers<\/td>\nBenito\u00a0Jones IR<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RDE<\/td>\nBradley\u00a0Chubb<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WLB<\/td>\nJordyn\u00a0Brooks Q<\/td>\nWillie\u00a0Gay<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MLB<\/td>\nTyrel Dodson<\/td>\nK.J. Britt\u00a0Q<\/td>\nJackson \u00a0Woodard<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SLB<\/td>\nCameron Goode<\/td>\nQuinton\u00a0Bell<\/td>\nJordan\u00a0Colbert\u00a0IR<\/td>\nCaleb\u00a0Johnson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LCB<\/td>\nJack\u00a0Jones<\/td>\nEthan Bonner<\/td>\nJuJu Brents\u00a0IR<\/td>\nArtie Burns\u00a0IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SS<\/td>\nAshtyn\u00a0Davis<\/td>\nDante Trader Jr.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FS<\/td>\nMinkah\u00a0Fitzpatrick O<\/td>\nIfeatu Melifonwu<\/td>\nElijah\u00a0Campbell IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RCB<\/td>\nJason\u00a0Marshall<\/td>\nA.J. Green III<\/td>\nStorm Duck\u00a0IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NB<\/td>\nRasul\u00a0Douglas<\/td>\nEthan\u00a0Robinson<\/td>\nKader Kohou\u00a0IR<\/td>\nIsaiah\u00a0Johnson IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Miami has three key defenders who are Questionable for Sunday.\u00a0 Minkah Fitzpatrick has been ruled out for Sunday.\u00a0 Chop Robinson and Jordyn Brooks are listed as Questionable.<\/p>\n

The Defensive line is led by RDE Bradley Chubb.\u00a0 He is having a bad season.\u00a0 The 6\u20194\u201d, 275-pound Edge player from NC State was selected in the 2018 draft, 1st round (5) by Denver.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 55.7, 95th<\/sup> of 115 Edge players.\u00a0 On the season, he has 46 Tackles, 8.5 Sacks, & QB Hits and 30 Hurries.\u00a0 LDE Chop Robinson is Questionable.\u00a0 The 6\u20193\u201d, 250-pound Backer played at Penn State.\u00a0 He was drafted in the 2024 1st<\/sup> round (21) by Miami.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 54.3, 100 of 115 edge players.\u00a0 On the season, he has 21 Tackles, 4 sacks, 1 QB hit, and 14 Hurries.<\/p>\n

Zach Sieler started the season slowly but has really come on lately.\u00a0 The 6\u20196\u201d, 305 DT played at Ferris State and was a 2018 7th<\/sup> round (239) selection by Baltimore.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 61, good for 55th<\/sup> of 132 DTs.\u00a0 On the season, he has 44 Tackles, 5.5 Sacks, 4 QB Hits, and 23 Hurries.\u00a0 Rookie Jordan Phillips is a 6\u20193\u201d, 320-pound DT who played for Maryland.\u00a0 He was selected in the 2025 5th<\/sup> round (143) by Miami.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 52.6, 85th<\/sup> of 122 DTs.\u00a0 On the season, he has 29 Tackles, 0 sacks, 0 QB Hits, and 1 Hurry.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

(PHOTO: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Linebackers are led by Jordyn Brooks, who is also listed as Questionable.\u00a0 If he can\u2019t go, that would be a big loss for the Phins.\u00a0 The 6\u20192\u201d 245-pound Linebacker played at Texas Tech and was selected in the 2020 1st<\/sup> round ( 27) by Seattle.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 78.4, 9th<\/sup> of 87 Linebackers.\u00a0 On the season, he has a whopping 174 Tackles, 3.5 Sacks, 0 QB Hits, and 11 Hurries.\u00a0 Tyrel Dotson is a relative unknown at MLB.\u00a0 The 6\u2019 237-pound Backer played at Texas A&M and went Undrafted in the 2019 Draft and was signed by Buffalo.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 57.3, 55th<\/sup> of 87 Linebackers.\u00a0 On the season, he has 121 tackles, 5 Sacks, 2 QB Hits, and 9 Hurries.\u00a0 Cameron Goode has filled in as a hybrid LB\/Edge player. \u00a0The 6\u20193\u201d 238-pound Edge played at California and was a 2022 7th<\/sup> round (225) by Miami.\u00a0 His PFF grade is a decent 65.,5 but doesn\u2019t have enough snaps to qualify for a ranking.\u00a0 On the season, he has 21 Tackles, 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, and 2 Hurries.<\/p>\n

The secondary was led by FS Minka Fitzpatrick but he has been ruled out for Sunday.\u00a0 His replacement will likely be Ifeatu Melinfonwu.\u00a0 The 6\u20193\u201d, 210-pound Safety played at Syracuse.\u00a0 He was drafted by Detroit in the 2021 Draft, 3rd<\/sup> round (101).\u00a0 He hails from Grafton, MA., and his brother Obi played for the Patriots.\u00a0 \u00a0His PFF grade is 62, 62nd of 198 CBs.\u00a0 On the season, he has 48 Tackles. 1 Sack, 0 QB Hits, 1 Hurry, and 1 Interception.\u00a0 Ashtyn Davis is the Strong Safety.\u00a0 The 6\u20191\u201d, 202-pound SS played at California and was selected in the 2020 Draft, 3rd<\/sup> round (68) by the New York Jets.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 51.6, good for 87 of 98 Safeties.\u00a0 On the season, he has 60 Tackles, 0 Sacks or QB Hits, 2 Hurries, and an Interception.<\/p>\n

The former Patriots draft pick, Jack Jones is the starting Left cornerback.\u00a0 The 5\u201911\u201d, 180-pound DB played at Arizona State, and was selected by the Patriots in the 2022 draft, 4th<\/sup> round (121).\u00a0 His PFF grade is 61.1, 62 of 113 CBs.\u00a0 On the season, he has 73 Tackles, 0 Sacks or QB Hits, 2 Hurries, and an Interception.\u00a0 Jones will gamble a lot.\u00a0 He is not a very good CB.\u00a0 He was also the player arrested for trying to bring a loaded gun on a plane at Logan.\u00a0 All charges were dropped.<\/p>\n

Rookie Jason Marshall is the RCB.\u00a0 The 6\u20191\u201d, 201-pound DB played at Florida and was taken in this year\u2019s draft in the 5th<\/sup> round (151) by Miami.\u00a0 His PFF grade is an abysmal 40.3.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have enough snaps to qualify for a rank.\u00a0 On the season, he has 22 Tackles, 0 Sacks, 1 QB Hit, 0 Hurries, and 1 Interception.\u00a0 Rasul Douglad is the Slot Corner and a very good one at that.\u00a0 The 6\u20192\u201d, 209-pound DB played at West Virginia and was selected in the 2017 Draft, 3rd round (99) by Philadelphia.\u00a0 His PFF grade is 74.6, good for 13th<\/sup> of 113 CBs.\u00a0 On the season, he has 59 tackles, 1 Sack, 1 QB Hit, 1 Hurry, and 2 INTs.<\/p>\n

Special Teams<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nStarter<\/td>\n2nd<\/td>\n3rd<\/td>\n4th<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PK<\/td>\nRiley Patterson<\/td>\nJason Sanders IR<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
P<\/td>\nJake Bailey<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
H<\/td>\nJake Bailey<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PR<\/td>\nMalik Washington<\/td>\nJaylen Waddle<\/td>\nCedrick Wilson<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
KR<\/td>\nMalik Washington<\/td>\nJaylen Wright<\/td>\nOllie Gordon<\/td>\nDee Eskridge IR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LS<\/td>\nJoe Cardona<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kicker Riley Patterson has filled in very well for Jason Sanders in the kicking game.\u00a0 He is Ted for 4th<\/sup> with 92.9 FG% and is 13th<\/sup> in FGM.\u00a0 Punter Jake Bailery, a former Patriot, is 13th<\/sup> in the league with a 42.7 Net Punt average.\u00a0 Kick Returner Malik Washington ranks 8th<\/sup> in Punt Return average with 13.4 YPR.\u00a0 On Kickoffs, he is 9th<\/sup> with an average of 26.8 YPR.<\/p>\n

Comings and Goings <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Patriots added rookie DB Kobee Minor to the 53-man roster.\u00a0 The last selection in the draft, \u201cMr. Irrelevant,\u201d addition to the roster means that all 11 Draft Picks made the roster by the end of the season.<\/p>\n

G Brenden Jaimes and DB Miles Battle cleared waivers and were signed to the Practice Squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 7-9 Dolphins have nothing to play for.\u00a0 They travel to New England in the dead of winter for a game that means nothing to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":49149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[254,23998,22216,23619,162,22565,23997,45,22813,2137,44,23423,23981,2258,1538],"class_list":["post-64181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news","tag-afc-east","tag-bradley-chubb","tag-darren-waller","tag-devon-achane","tag-injuries","tag-jaylen-waddle","tag-jordyn-brooks","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-mike-mcdaniel","tag-minkah-fitzpatrick","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-patrick-paul","tag-quinn-ewers","tag-tua-tagovailoa","tag-tyreek-hill"],"yoast_head":"\nMORSE: 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