Patriots' Resilience, Home Dominance Makes Them Most Dangerous Playoff Team

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Good luck to anyone who has to travel to Gillette Stadium in the playoffs. You're probably going to need it.

The New England Patriots continue to assert their home dominance, as evidenced by their resounding, division-clinching 41-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. It was a game where the Patriots proved both just how overpowering and resilient they can be.

"We knew what was on the line," said linebacker Jonathan Casillas. "That's a good team we were playing against, a team we lost to the last two times, and they're always a tough out. They gave us some fits in the first half, and in the second half, we came correct. We had a game plan and we stuck to it."

It looked like the Patriots might have to win ugly in the first half, with an interception by quarterback Tom Brady and few big plays in the passing game. They were nursing a one-point lead at halftime, but it very easily could have been the Dolphins who were leading the Patriots after the first half.

The ugly duckling turned into a swan at halftime, and the Patriots were unstoppable for the final 30 minutes of the game.

A 27-point scoring flurry put the game well out of reach for the Dolphins. They rushed for 20 yards in the first half and more than quadrupled that total with 88 rushing yards in the second half. They had seven first downs in the first half and exceeded that total 10 minutes into the second half.

Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2299810-patriots-resilience-home-dominance-makes-them-most-dangerous-playoff-team