5 players the Patriots need to play well to beat the Dolphins

Another year, and another seemingly new era in New England. Mac Jones and the Patriots will have to be on top of their game to take down the Dolphins.

For the second consecutive year, the New England Patriots will have a new quarterback under center to start the season.

Rookie Mac Jones will be leading the Patriots offense in Foxboro against the Miami Dolphins. What will the Patriots need to do to beat their division rivals? Here are five players that will need to play well for the Patriots to beat Miami.

Mac Jones

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way- the rookie quarterback.

Oddly enough, Jones gives the Patriots the ability to go back to the offensive style they played with when Tom Brady was taking snaps. This isn’t to say Jones is as good as Brady, but he’s definitely more similar to the 7-time Super Bowl Champion than Cam Newton. He’s more of what New England has always done in the Belichick era- three step drops, hit the open man, and march downfield.

Jones is accurate. If he just takes what the defense gives him and doesn’t force anything that isn’t there, the Patriots should be able to move the ball consistently and score enough points to get the job done. That said, he can’t be passive and play scared. He won this job for a reason, and he needs to come up big for the Patriots, not just in Week 1, but throughout the year.