Don’t expect the New England Patriots to rest any starters when it takes the field Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida to take on their AFC East rival, the Miami Dolphins.
The Patriots (13-2) will be looking to secure the AFC top seed and home field throughout the AFC playoffs with a win or an Oakland Raiders loss to Denver.
Oakland (12-3) would win the AFC top spot with a win and a Patriots loss to the Dolphins due to tiebreakers. The Raiders lost starting quarterback Derek Carr for the season with a broken leg in an unfortunate injury last Saturday against the Colts. Fourth year QB Matt McGloin will fill in for Carr the rest of the way. McGloin has passed 1,818 yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his career, and will be starting just his seventh NFL game against Denver this Sunday.
Miami (10-5) has already locked up a Wild Card playoff spot as they turn to backup QB Matt Moore against the Patriots, as starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was lost to a knee injury three weeks ago. Tannehills status has now been upgraded to day to day and could make a return when the playoffs begin next weekend.
Kickoff in Miami is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon, while Oakland and Denver kickoff at 4:25 p.m. in Denver. The Patriots will also be looking to become just the seventh team in NFL history to finish a season undefeated on the road.
