The Patriots are finally climbing. Two straight wins have flipped their outlook, and after a shaky 1-2 start that left Drake Maye looking completely out of his depth, New England has steadied itself with a critical win over the Bills and a 45-17 blowout of the 3-1 Raiders. At 1-0 in the division and sitting as the AFC’s fifth seed, the Patriots are on the rise even though their September offense ranked last in the league.
This weekend brings another chance to keep that momentum rolling. Vegas has New England favored by more than a touchdown against the Jets, and a victory would push the Patriots to 2-0 in the division and 4-2 overall.
The matchup has not been much of a problem lately, either. Since November 2016, the Patriots and Jets have met 20 times, with New England winning 18 of them.
The bigger concern for New England, though, may not be the Jets at all. The Dolphins have quietly been one of the more annoying obstacles on the Patriots’ path, even after New England swept them last season. The first meeting between the teams in that sweep, a 33-27 Patriots win in Miami, was the first time the organization had ever beaten Tua Tagovailoa.
Miami’s overall situation points toward a reset. The offseason moves and the 0-5 start make that obvious.
But the Dolphins have still managed to be a problem for New England over the years. Tom Brady’s final regular-season game with the Patriots ended in a loss to the "Tank for Tua" Dolphins, who had beaten the team 43-0 earlier that season.
Since Brady left, New England is 4-8 against Miami and has been swept three times.
That is where the trade chatter gets interesting. The Dolphins are expected to be sellers at the deadline, but one name has surfaced as a possible addition for the Malik Willis-led squad: Brian Thomas Jr.
In a recent Bleacher Report piece by Alex Kay, Miami was labeled a top candidate to pursue the former first-round pick. Thomas burst onto the scene as a rookie, catching 87 passes for just shy of 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The follow-up has been much rougher. In his sophomore season, he has only 48 catches for 707 yards and 3 total touchdowns.
There are also structural reasons the fit looks shaky. Liam Coen’s staff did not draft Thomas.
They already traded for and extended Jakobi Meyers, and Parker Washington has taken off since the end of the 2025 season. The Penn State product has 48 catches for 806 yards and 7 touchdowns over his last nine games, including 6 of those games.
Thomas, meanwhile, has only nine receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown so far, which works out to 21 yards per game. His most recent outing was a blank against the Eagles in Week 5, the first time that has happened in his career.
A fresh start could help both sides. Kay suggested Miami might be able to land Thomas for a third-round pick, a price that would give the Dolphins a 24-year-old receiver with star-level upside at a discount and give the Jaguars another top-100 selection for a player who has not flashed in their current setup. He also pointed out that sixth-round pick Josh Cameron looks like a strong fit in Coen’s system.
For New England, the reason to care goes beyond one player changing teams. The Patriots had trouble handling Justin Fields with his legs last season.
Malik Willis brings a similar layer of unpredictability, and while Fields did not beat them through the air, Willis has shown elite arm talent at times, including last season with the Packers. If Miami were to add Thomas on top of that, the Patriots would need to be sharp.
The long view is what makes the idea even more unsettling for New England. With Willis, De’Von Achane, and Caleb Douglas already forming a foundation, Thomas could become the top target Miami is searching for. The Dolphins are also in the Jeremiah Smith sweepstakes, and if Chris Bell gets back to his pre-ACL-tear form, South Beach could be looking at one of the league’s most dangerous offenses by 2027.
If Thomas truly is available for a third-round pick, Miami ought to make the call. So should the Patriots. New England is still a long way from Super Bowl talk, but Mike Vrabel and company would have every reason to be bothered if the Dolphins pull it off.
In Other News...
Patriots Win Still Exposed A Secondary Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Patriots 45-17 win over the Raiders looked convincing on the scoreboard, but it also highlighted a familiar problem in the defensive backfield. Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers kept finding room against New Englands smaller defensive backs, using his size to create mismatches and finishing with a productive afternoon that underscored why the matchup was such a concern.
New England does have options if it wants to get bigger on the back end, and the conversation now turns to possible help at cornerback and beyond. Free agent Jeff Okudah and Chiefs cornerback Kristian Fulton are among the names to watch, while practice squad options like Elliott Davison and Alzillion Hamilton also give the Patriots some internal choices as they try to address a weakness that showed up even in a lopsided win. [Read more 🡒]
A.J. Browns Return Looks Even Better For Patriots Fans
A.J. Browns move to New England before the 2026 season already looked like a major addition when the Patriots brought him in, and it has only become easier to see why since then. Brown has settled into the offense smoothly, giving the Patriots the kind of established playmaker they wanted, while the conversation around the deal has only grown louder as fans and analysts continue to weigh what it means for both sides.
The contrast has been hard to miss, because the Patriots have reason to feel good about how the trade has worked out for them. Philadelphia, meanwhile, has been dealing with injuries, coaching questions and a losing record, which has made the optics of the swap look even better from New Englands perspective and kept the trade among the more talked-about moves of the young season. [Read more 🡒]
Romeo Doubs Is Giving Patriots Fans A Very Familiar Debate
Romeo Doubs has wasted little time becoming one of the more interesting names in New Englands passing game, and not always for the cleanest reasons. In his first month with the Patriots, he has flashed the kind of versatility that made the team believe he could matter right away, while also turning in stretches that have left fans wanting more from a player tied to bigger expectations.
With A.J. Brown sidelined, Doubs has been asked to handle a larger workload than the Patriots probably planned on this early, which has only sharpened the scrutiny around his play. The upside is still obvious, and his role could look different once Brown is back, but for now Doubs is in that familiar New England spot where promise, pressure and patience all seem to be colliding at once. [Read more 🡒]