The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East championship last week and have a chance to lock up the conference’s top seed — and with it a first-round bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl — if it can beat division rival Miami on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
The Patriots (13-3), who can win 14 games in a season for the first time since 2016 when they won Super Bowl LI, can clinch the top seed with a win over the Dolphins (7-9) and a loss or tie by the Denver Broncos against the L.A. Chargers.
While New England would like this pursuit to be its sole focus this week, the team is dealing with legal issues surrounding two key players — receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive tackle Christian Barmore.
The Patriots were fresh off celebrating their first division title since 2019 when reports surfaced of Diggs facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation, and misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from an incident that took place on Dec. 2. Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23.
In an unrelated incident, Barmore faces a misdemeanor charge of one count of assault and battery on a family/household member alleged to have occurred on Aug. 8.
New England coach Mike Vrabel said before the team’s practice Wednesday he hadn’t heard anything that would keep either player from being available to play against Miami, though Diggs’ status for the postseason remains unclear.
“It means that everybody that we care about and that we have been close to for a while … means that we support, and we do,” Vrabel said. “We understand that there’s allegations, but we also want to support each and every player, and each and every coach, and each and every staff member.”
The Patriots’ tumultuous week comes after a stress-free 42-10 victory over the New York Jets during which quarterback Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes. Maye threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another in Week 2 when the Patriots beat the Dolphins 33-27 in Miami.
Since being eliminated from postseason consideration, the Dolphins have turned their focus toward their future over the past two weeks. That has included benching starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Rookie Quinn Ewers is expected to make his third career start — and first on the road — on Sunday. After struggling during a 45-21 loss to Cincinnati in which he threw two interceptions, Ewers bounced back last week and led Miami to a 20-17 win over Tampa Bay. Ewers tossed his first two touchdown passes, committed no turnovers and completed 14 of 22 passes for 172 yards.
“It’s what I always dreamed of is playing in this league at the highest level in this position, and it’s special whenever you’ve got a group of guys like we do this year,” Ewers said. “We’re not playing for a Super Bowl, so I thought we did a really good job of coming out here and playing for each other and playing for our last names and playing for the organization.”
The Dolphins took the pressure off Ewers by again running the football effectively, led by Pro Bowler De’Von Achane. The third-year pro has rushed for 1,350 yards and caught a team-high 67 passes for 488 yards. Achane’s rushing yardage is the third-most in a single season in Dolphins history behind Ricky Williams, who rushed for a league-high 1,853 yards in 2002 and 1,372 yards in 2003.
The Patriots had several players who didn’t practice on Wednesday, including Barmore due to an illness. The others were tight ends Hunter Henry (knee) and Jack Westover (ankle), linebackers Harold Landry III (knee) and Robert Spillane (ankle), defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (foot) and guard Jared Wilson (concussion). Cornerback Alex Austin (wrist), receiver Kayshon Boutte (concussion), linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson (illness) and offensive tackles Morgan Moses (rest) and Thayer Munford Jr. (illness) were limited.
For the Dolphins, Achane (shoulder), linebacker Jordyn Brooks (hamstring), safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (calf), tight end Darren Waller (groin), receiver Jaylen Waddle (ribs) and linebacker Chop Robinson (concussion) did not practice Wednesday. Center Aaron Brewer (neck) and kicker Jason Sanders (right hip) were limited.
