Predicting the Final Score of Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots

The Miami Dolphins’ playoff chances are effectively out of their hands, but a victory against the New England Patriots could go a long way to helping the Dolphins’ chances.

The Dolphins sit at 7-6 this season and will be facing the 10-3 Patriots, who look set to clinch the AFC East title within the next two weeks. The remaining three games of the season see the Dolphins playing the Patriots and New York Jets as well as the NFC North’s Minnesota Vikings.

The Dolphins will want to finish at least second in the division and will need to pick up wins against the Jets and Vikings in order to boost their chances, hoping that the Buffalo Bills stumble along the way.

The Dolphins could also provide a big upset against the team considered to be the best in the entire AFC right now, much like they did in Week 1 of the season. Dreams like this remain for Dolphins fans, but it is highly unlikely such a result will come to fruition.

The Patriots have been great for a long time now and have lost just three games all season, one of them to the Dolphins. But Rob Gronkowski has returned to full health and is torching NFL defenses once again, pulling in 10 touchdowns already this season. The closest Dolphins player to this mark is wide receiver Mike Wallace, who has seven touchdowns on the season so far.

Gronkowski now has four seasons where he has caught 10 or more touchdowns and looks to terrorize the Dolphins this coming weekend, something the Dolphins may not be able to stop.

In recent weeks, the Dolphins’ secondary has been decimated with injuries to Cortland Finnegan, Jamar Taylor and now Louis Delmas. This unit was a strength for the Dolphins early in the season and now it has become a weakness, with just Brent Grimes and Reshad Jones being legitimate starters.

Playing against a red-hot Tom Brady with a fully healthy Gronkowski is going to cause the Dolphins’ secondary many problems and this game could very well turn into a blowout if the Dolphins’ pass rush proves ineffective this time around.

Prediction: Dolphins 14 Patriots 27

James Reeve is an NFL and NCAA Football writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter or “Like” him on Facebook.