Dolphins aim to make annual Patriots September scare into something real

If someone were to tell you that three weeks into the season, the AFC East would have one 3-0 team and three others tied at 1-2, a scant few would guess that the unbeaten team would be any other than the New England Patriots.

And with good reason. Since Tom Brady took over as the Pats' starter in 2001, only twice has any team other than New England won the division. In fact, a popular knock on the greatness of the Patriots is that they fatten themselves up on wins in a cupcake division during the regular season. Some years, that might be true. In 2018, well, it’s up for debate — for the time being at the very least.

The Patriots are 1-2 for the first time since 2012. It should be noted, of course, that they finished that season 12-4 and once again took first place in the AFC East. In 2008, the Pats also started 1-2 and didn’t make the playoffs. That year the Miami Dolphins, under the coaching of the recently departed Tony Sparano, took the division, which remains the last time it didn’t go to the Pats.

Miami sits atop the East, having dispatched the Titans, Jets and Raiders in their first three games. Of those teams, only Tennessee currently has a winning record. Still, even if their success is against mostly subpar competition, the Dolphins have to be extremely encouraged in what they have gotten out of Ryan Tannehill. After missing the entire 2017 season with an injury, Tannehill is off to a scorching start, throwing for seven touchdowns to two interceptions while completing 73 percent of his passes for a rating of 121.8 over three weeks.

With guaranteed money no longer an issue for 2019 and 2020, the last two years of Tannehill’s current deal, it was paramount for the Dolphins QB to return strong. This is a quarterback who showed incremental improvement throughout his first five seasons in the league, if not quite making the big jump to becoming one of the league’s best passers.

Miami went into the offseason with an emphasis on building speed. Snagging Albert Wilson, a former Kansas City receiver, paid dividends on Sunday when the wideout threw for a 52-yard touchdown on a trick play and caught a 74-yard score.