[h=1]
USA TODAY SportsRob Gronkowski's second game this season will be against Ryan Tannehill and the sliding Dolphins.[/h]
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At the start of the 2013 season, a hot-button question was which AFC East team was closest to contending with the
New England Patriots for the division championship. Most seemed to agree it was the
Miami Dolphins, who were as aggressive as any NFL team in reshaping their roster in the offseason.
But through seven weeks of the regular season, the picture looks a bit different than many projected.
First, the Patriots' stranglehold on the AFC East doesn't seem as strong as it has been for long stretches since 2001, a span in which they have posted a 61-16 record against division foes. They are coming off a surprising 30-27 overtime road loss to the
New York Jets to drop to 5-2.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins opened the year with three straight wins, but have slid back to the pack with three straight losses, the latest a surprising setback to the visiting
Buffalo Bills this past Sunday 23-21.
[h=4]Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET[/h]
PickCenter
Can the Dolphins stop
their three-game skid?
Could the Bills and Jets be further along than the Dolphins? And are the Patriots suddenly vulnerable?
Those are topical questions to ask as the Dolphins prepare to visit the Patriots on Sunday (1 p.m. ET), and NFL Nation Dolphins reporter James Walker and NFL Nation Patriots reporter Mike Reiss help us break it down:
