The Miami Dolphins offense continued to be one of the most electric in the National Football League in the season’s opening week. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa delivered one of the most impressive performances of his career, throwing for 466 passing yards and three touchdowns, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Additionally, Wide receivers Tyreek Hill, 11 catches for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Jaylen Waddle, four catches for 78 yards, continued to be a top duo.
Tagovailoa enters week two following the fantasy football QB1 (28.14 points) finish, while Hill finished as the top-scoring wide receiver (44.50 PPR points).
Miami faces a challenge in AFC East divisional rival New England on Sunday Night Football. Miami’s fantasy football-relevant players – Tagovailoa, Hill, and Waddle – haven’t had dominant fantasy outputs against the Patriots. Will Sunday Night Football buck the trend?
In four career games against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots defense, Tagovailoa has accumulated 726 yards and three touchdowns. In last season’s opening game against New England, Tua put together his best game to date, throwing for 270 yards and a passing touchdown, but only totaled 14.0 fantasy points, which ranked as the QB23 finish on the week.
Hill, making his Miami Dolphins debut, recorded eight catches for 94 yards and added a six-yard rush, putting his scoring at 18 PPR points and a WR19 finish. Waddle made four catches for 69 yards and added a touchdown, ending the week as WR20.
In week one, New England and Belichick stifled the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles offense. Against the Patriots, the highest-scoring fantasy players for the Eagles were Jalen Hurts, who finished as QB19, AJ Browm WR21, Devonta Smith WR16, and Kenneth Gainwell RB24. The Eagles offense only recorded 251 yards versus the Patriots but earned the victory.
In week two, Tua is projected to throw for 276 yards and one touchdown against New England. Based off his history against the Patriots’ defense, fantasy players do face issues with hoping for a top-10 finish at the position this week for Tagovailoa. It’s unlikely that there will be better streaming options available, but another target at the position for the week could be Geno Smith against the Lions.
Both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are lineup locks for fantasy players, even against the New England Patriots’ defense. Expectations should be tempered, but both of the wide receivers are elite playmakers and possess the ability for massive outputs and to score on any given play. Hill and Waddle can be played with confidence.
On the other side of the field, the Patriots do not offer many fantasy-relevant options. Rhamondre Stevenson offers a solid floor after Miami’s defense had plenty of issues stopping the run against the Los Angeles Chargers. Austin Ekeler finished the week as the RB2, totaling 16 rushes for 117 yards and one touchdown while adding four catches and 47 yards, and Joshua Kelly (RB12) added 16 carries of his own for 91 yards and a touchdown. However, the lack of explosive playmakers on the New England offense should allow the Dolphins’ defense to make the adjustment from last week and prevent being exposed by the run game.
Overall, I’d rank Tua Tagovaila as QB15 on the week, while Hill and Waddle both should be top-30 plays at the position. Score Prediction – Miami 27, New England 13.