This Sunday, the Pats travel to Miami Gardens, Florida, to take on their AFC East rival the Miami Dolphins. Past battles in south Florida have not been kind to Brady and Belichick. Since 2000, New England has an 8-10 record in Miami, and Brady’s passer rating of 89.98 there falls well below his career average of 97.5. Every Patriots game in South Beach brings back memories of past defeats and hard-fought battles in the Miami heat. With the Dolphins on the schedule this week, I thought now was the time to go back and relive some of the rivalry’s most memorable games.

October 7, 2001: Dolphins 30, Patriots 10

Just two weeks after franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured, then-unknown Tom Brady found himself starting his first NFL road game. New England started strong, with a Mike Vrabel interception being turned into an Antowain Smith touchdown just two plays later to put the Patriots on the board first. The two teams found themselves tied at 10 halfway through the second quarter before the wheels fell off. Brady would fumble the ball away twice, once for a Miami touchdown, and be sacked four times as the offense totaled only 149 yards. This loss put New England at 1-3 and seemed to show that their blowout victory over the Peyton Manning-led Colts the week before was nothing but a fluke.

October 19, 2003: Patriots 19, Dolphins 13 (OT)

Brady’s first win in Miami would be a dramatic one. Brady and the Patriots squared off against a Ricky Williams-led Dolphins squad with the division lead on the line. Trailing 13-6 halfway through the third quarter, Brady went 7-9 on a 76-yard game-tying drive, finding David Givens on a 24-yard completion in the endzone for the scoring strike. In the fourth quarter, Jay Fiedler would lead Miami on a 73-yard drive from his own 10 to the New England 17, taking over nine minutes off the clock and setting the home team up for a go-ahead field goal with two minutes remaining. Olindo Mare’s 35-yard attempt would then be blocked by Richard Seymour, sending the game to overtime. The drama would escalate before the extra period began as the teams disagreed over whether the coin landed on heads or tails. Despite loud arguments from New England’s captains, Miami would start overtime with the ball. Ten seconds into the extra frame, Jay Fiedler would find receiver Derrius Thompson down the left sideline to put the Dolphins on the Patriots side of the field. "Down the left sideline" might not quite be the right phrasing. How about, "clearly out of bounds on the left sideline"?

Despite the receiver clearly not being in bounds, the play was called a catch and Miami was in business. The Dolphins ran their way down to the New England 17, again, and Olindo Mare lined up for a 35-yard game-winning field goal attempt, again. It was no good, again. The veteran kicker who had only missed from that range four times in his career had missed twice in the same game. Both misses came from the dirt infield of Pro Player Stadium, at the time the home of both the Dolphins and Marlins. Despite having been granted two reprieves at the hands of Miami special teams, the Patriots offense could do nothing with the ball, and Miami’s offense would get another chance to win the game in overtime. However, facing 3rd and 12, Jay Fiedler’s deep pass down the right sideline for Chris Chambers would instead find undersized defensive back Tyrone Poole. Given a third life, Tom Brady would not waste it. On the first play after the turnover, Brady would fine Troy Brown deep for an 82-yard walk-off touchdown. New England would gain the division lead and never look back, not losing another game that season.

December 20, 2004: Dolphins 29, Patriots 28

A matchup between the 12-1 Patriots and the 2-11 Dolphins on Monday Night Football seemed like a blatant mismatch, with New England favored by 10. Seeking any kind of luck, Miami broke out orange jerseys for only the second time in franchise history. The Patriots would outgain Miami 322 to 231, hold the ball for over 35 minutes, and sack A.J. Feeley 4 times. However, the Dolphins would hang around. A 71-yard punt return from future Patriot Wes Welker set-up an easy early touchdown for another future Patriot Sammy Morris, and a touchdown run from Travis Minor would give the Dolphins a lead in the second half. However, a Brady touchdown pass to Daniel Graham with just under 4 minutes remaining extended the lead to 11 and seemed to clinch a New England victory. What happened next was like a scene from a nightmare for New England fans. A.J. Feeley led Miami 68 yards in just 7 plays, with Sammy Morris punching in a touchdown run to pull within 5. Miami’s defense forced New England into a 3rd and long, and Brady tried to force a throw to Daniel Graham while being sacked. The ball was intercepted, giving Miami the ball at New England’s 21 with just under two minutes remaining. On 4th and 10, Feeley would find receiver Derrius Thompson in the endzone over Troy Brown, the wide receiver-turned-defensive back, to go ahead. Another interception off a desperation heave from Tom Brady and two Feeley kneel-downs later and the Dolphins had successfully upset the favored Patriots for their third win. Brady’s 4 interceptions tied a career high.

December 10, 2006: Dolphins 21, Patriots 0

In Nick Saban’s last season as an NFL head coach before leaving to coach at Alabama, he would get the better of his former boss Bill Belichick. His pass rushers would tee off on New England quarterbacks, sacking them five times and forcing four fumbles. Brady threw for just 78 yards, and the passing game netted only 66 yards. The team was penalized nine times for 71 yards, and Miami controlled time of possession. This game marked a low point for New England’s offense.

October 21, 2007: Patriots 49, Dolphins 28

After the passing game struggled with a weak receiving corps in 2006, Belichick retooled the offense by adding Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Donte’ Stallworth. By the time New England met Miami in October, their offense was averaging over 38 points per game and the team was undefeated. Meanwhile, the Dolphins had yet to win a game. New England would more than make up for the shutout loss suffered in Miami the year before. Brady would post a perfect passer rating of 158.3 for the first time in his career, a feat he’s accomplished only once since. He went 21-25 for 354 yards and 6 touchdowns, with no interceptions and only one sack. Two of those touchdowns went to Randy Moss in highlight-reel grabs in the endzone. Two more went to Wes Welker, who had 138 yards on 9 catches. Donte’ Stallworth and Kyle Brady added the other two scores. The Patriots held a 42-7 lead at halftime. 21 of Miami’s 28 points came in the fourth quarter with the outcome firmly in hand and New England’s backups in the game. This game would go down as one of most dominant performances of the Brady-Belichick era.

September 12, 2011: Patriots 38, Dolphins 24

New England kicked off the 2011 season on Monday Night Football in Miami. After a Chad Henne touchdown pass tied the game early the third, New England ran away with this one. This game is notable for two reasons. Firstly, Brady’s 517 yards passing set a career high that still stands today, and his performance currently ranks eighth for single-game passing yards of all-time. Secondly, 99 of those yards came on one touchdown pass to Wes Welker. Brady found his receiver on a seam route down the left side in stride, and he hit his defender with a stiff arm before taking off for the end zone. This play is one of only thirteen 99-yard pass plays in NFL history.

September 7, 2014: Dolphins 33, Patriots 20

Like three years earlier, the Patriots hoped to start their season off on the right foot with a win in Miami. Hopes were high for the 2014 Patriots, which had added Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to the secondary in the offseason. Things went south early, though, as New England went three-and-out on the first possession before having their punt blocked. A Ryan Tannehill-to-Lamar Miller touchdown pass put Miami up early. Still, things looked good in the first half, as a Stephen Gostkowski field goal put the team up 10 heading into the break. Then, things went sideways. The offense flopped, gaining only 47 yards in the second half, 37 of which came on the last drive with the game almost out of reach. Miami’s offense scored on five of eight possessions, scoring 23 unanswered points to give the Patriots an opening week defeat. This loss was the second of three in a row in Miami. The other two came near the end of the season and cost New England homefield advantage to the Denver Broncos, who advanced to the Super Bowl both years.

December 11, 2017: Dolphins 27, Patriots 20

New England marched into Miami for a Monday Night tilt against the 5-7 Dolphins, who had struggled since starting the year 4-2. New England was on an eight-game winning streak and could clinch the division with a win. However, the team would be without Rob Gronkowski, who had been suspended for the game. The Dolphins, donning their 1972 throwback aqua uniforms, played like teams of the past and dominated from the start. New England was outgained 123 to 2 in the first quarter. The Pats would only lead for less than three minutes, and the Dolphins held a 17-point lead late in the third. The running game was held to just 25 yards, and Brady was forced to throw 43 times. He only completed 24 of his passes, and he threw 2 picks, both to Xavien Howard. For the first time since 1991, the Patriots failed to convert a third down, going 0-11 on the night.

New England’s recent history in Miami is tumultuous. That stadium is home to some of the greatest and worst offensive performances in franchise history, and Brady has posted both a perfect passer rating and a shutout in Miami. Some games have been blowouts, while others have come down to the final minutes or beyond. There is only one thing certain when the Patriots travel to south Florida: things won’t go the way you expect. You can throw out the record books and the scouting reports.

When the schedule for this season was released back in April, I thought there had been a mistake. For some reason, the last four games hadn’t changed from last year. It turns out there was no mistake, and the schedule makers thought that repeating the end to last season was a good idea. The only change is that last year’s tilt in Miami took place on Monday Night Football, and this year’s will be in the 1:00 slot on CBS. Once again, New England will play in Miami in week 14, with the Dolphins wearing throwback uniforms and a chance to clinch the division with a win. Gronkowksi has been dinged up and may not be effective, if he plays. With the team a game back from the leading Chiefs and tied with the Texans, it cannot afford to drop another game. The Pats will have to overcome their Miami demons in order to secure a top-two seed and a bye for the playoffs.