The 16-year streak of the Patriots avoiding three losses in a row during a season continues on as they dominated the Dolphins 38-7.

With a 24-0 halftime score, it may look like quarterback Tom Brady carved them up with two of three touchdowns thrown landing in the first two quarters. But 120 yards rushing and touchdowns by Sony Michel and James White began to drown the Dolphins in the first half of play. This also kept the defense on the field for around 20:00 minutes before the third quarter even started.

Miami’s offense came out trying to run the ball to no avail. The ground game finished with an anemic 56 yards on 18 carries. It seems New England head coach Bill Belichick came out with the exact game plan discussed in the Dolphins Dive.

Take away the opponent’s strength, and force them to beat the Pats another way. Daring quarterback Ryan Tannehill to sling it down the field appears to be more than the offense could overcome. The best evidence of the effectiveness with this concept is Tannehill’s stat line of 11 of 20 for 100 yards with an interception before Brock Osweiler took the field in the fourth quarter.

With the run taken away, there were also fewer motion and utility plays called that lead to Jakeem Grant high fiving Albert Wilson against the Raiders. That meant less flavor to the offensive scheme. The last thing you want was facing a Belichick defense is to have a predictable one-dimensional offense. That is exactly where the Dolphins found themselves.

Last week, we also examined how the Dolphins have improved their discipline, but in battling the defending AFC Champions, they looked more like their sloppy 2017 edition finishing the game with 10 penalties.

The good news is that there is miles of football left in the season and 3-1 on the year still keeps them atop the AFC East. In fact, a famous sound bite from Bill Belichick himself may turn out to be the best advice for how the Dolphins should approach next Sunday on the road against the Bengals — “we’re on to Cincinnati”