NFL Week 15: 3 teams on upset alert this week

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 13: Wide receiver Christian Kirk #13 of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the ball in the first quarter of the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 13, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

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MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 13: Christian Wilkins #94 of the Miami Dolphins, Jerome Baker #55 and Emmanuel Ogbah #91 look on against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half in the game at Hard Rock Stadium on December 13, 2020, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Dolphins should be on upset alert against the Patriots

One team that is in control of its own playoff destiny right now is the Miami Dolphins, which is a nice development after they finished 5-11 a year ago. The Dolphins did display some moxie in a hard-fought loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, overcoming a run of 30 unanswered points from the Chiefs to lose by just six points.

An encouraging aspect of the game was a strong performance from Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 316 yards with two touchdowns against just one pick against the defending champs. Tagovailoa has expectedly had some uneven performances in his rookie year, which could be problematic this week against the New England Patriots, who Miami is favored to beat by 2.5 points.

A loss out in Los Angeles, combined with Buffalo’s win on Sunday night, officially eliminated New England from the AFC East race for the first time in 11 years. The Patriots still have a long-shot path to the wild card, however, and they absolutely have to beat the Dolphins this week in order to make that happen.

Bill Belichick has had three extra days to prepare since the Patriots lost on Thursday in Week 14, a dangerous recipe for Miami given Belichick’s history of confounding rookie quarterbacks. Don’t be shocked if New England stages a last stand performance by knocking off the Dolphins in Miami this Sunday.