Why to watch:
The AFC East is the most competitive division in the NFL, so every divisional game is extremely important. This meeting of two '98 wild-card teams should help shape the divisional race and might eventually serve as a key playoff tiebreaker. The Dolphins avoided a two-game losing streak with a big comeback victory last week at Indianapolis. Future Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who had been criticized by coach Jimmy Johnson for his poor decision making, rallied Miami from a nine-point deficit in the final eight minutes. As for the Patriots, they're coming off their first loss of the season, a frustrating 16-14 defeat at Kansas City in which Adam Vinatieri clanged a 32-yard field goal off an upright in the final minutes. The matchup of New England's explosive offense against Miami's suffocating defense should be entertaining.

Who to watch:
Patriots WR Terry Glenn leads the NFL with a whopping 636 receiving yards in five games. This game might hinge on whether Dolphins CBs Sam Madison, Terrell Buckley and Patrick Surtain can shut down Glenn, Tony Simmons, Sean Jefferson and Troy Brown. Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe leads the league with 1,595 passing yards in five games. Marino's 393 passing yards last week were his most during Johnson's tenure as coach. Dolphins RB Cecil Collins scored his first career TD last week and should get more carries as the season unfolds. Pats CB Ty Law will probably rotate between covering Dolphins WRs O.J. McDuffie and Tony Martin. Patriots DE Willie McGinest could benefit from the injury problems on the left side of Miami's offensive line. Pats TE Ben Coates will challenge Zach Thomas and the Dolphins LBs.

Dolphins' numbers to know:
Despite all the talk about Collins and Miami's improved running game, the Dolphins rank 22nd in the NFL in rushing with an average of 84.3 yards per game. That's not really an improvement from last season, when Miami ranked 24th with 95.9 yards per game. Collins is averaging just 3.2 yards per carry.

Patriots' numbers to know:
The Patriots have trailed at halftime in four of their five games this season. Ironically, the only game New England led at intermission -- last week's contest at Kansas City -- ended in the Pats' only loss of the year. The Patriots must avoid a slow start against Miami's tough defense.

What it means:
New England needs to rebound with a victory or that impressive 4-0 start won't mean much. Miami is a half-game back of both the Bills and Pats in the AFC East, and the Dolphins have already lost a game to Buffalo. The winner in Foxboro will join the Bills as the early favorites for the division crown, while the loser will fall back to the pack a bit. The last four regular-season meetings between these two rivals have been decided by three points or less, so expect a tight battle.

Sean Salisbury's breakdown
Dolphins' game plan:
Miami will see a lot of man-to-man coverage from New England's aggressive defense. You always expect a shootout when Dan Marino is on one side and Drew Bledsoe is on the other. Miami will try to establish the run with Cecil Collins, but I expect the Dolphins to push the ball around and challenge on the perimeter like they did against the Colts.

Tony Martin showed his importance to this offense by catching 10 passes at Indianapolis. Expect the Dolphins to attack and try to offset the Patriots' defensive aggression because I think New England will come after them.

Defensively, George Hill does a nice job of game-planning against teams. He will continue to call for man-to-man coverage from his aggressive cornerbacks, Sam Madison and Terrell Buckley. But I don't think the Dolphins can play that style all game long against the Patriots. If they miss on a bump, Bledsoe will throw a long touchdown pass to someone. The Dolphins can mix and disguise man and zone coverages so Bledsoe has to make adjustments on the run.

Patriots' game plan:
This will be a game of big plays. The Dolphins have extremely aggressive cornerbacks in Madison and Buckley. When they gamble, it either pays off or it doesn't. The way Terry Glenn, Shawn Jefferson and company are playing, the Patriots are getting good production out of their passing game.

While the Dolphins are excellent at covering from sideline to sideline, they don't have anyone who can cover tight end Ben Coates. Expect the Patriots to take advantage of this matchup. The Patriots will run, but only as a change of pace. Their main objective is to spread out the Dolphins defense with three or four receivers and Bledsoe throwing out of the shotgun because he can see the blitzes better to find his talented receivers.

New England's defense will try to create pressure any way it can on Marino. The key is to get people at Marino's feet or in his face. The Patriots can't allow Marino to get into an early rhythm and get hot right away. So the Patriots need to pressure Marino from the start. They need to rush Marino inside, not outside, because he is never a threat to scramble outside of the pocket.

The Patriots will blitz their inside linebackers and load up the line of scrimmage because they feel pretty good about their secondary, led by cornerback Ty Law. They will stop Miami's run by stunting defensive linemen and attacking with linebackers inside. The Patriots should make Marino sidestep the pressure, but don't let him stand back and get into the throw. The Colts tried to corner blitz Marino, and he burned them for a touchdown pass. Marino understands where blitzes are coming from.

Pivotal Players:
O.J. McDuffie and Oronde Gadsden -- the Miami receivers aside from Martin. I think Martin can beat the Patriots' cornerbacks and get deep. But what will be important is how the other receivers react when Law is covering Martin, and whether or not someone can step up and make plays other than Martin in the passing game. Gadsden did it against the Colts, and he and McDuffie will have more opportunities against New England because they will face more man-to-man coverage and the Patriots will be more cognizant of Martin.