Is this the year the Miami Dolphins overtake New England in the NFC East?

The New England Patriots have won the AFC East 10 of the last 11 years and five years in a row. But New England hasn’t increased its win total from the previous season since 2010.

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins, who are the only other team to win the division in the last decade, have slowly but surely increased their annual win total from six in 2011, to seven in 2012, and eight in 2013.

Might the two teams be moving closer to one another?

If Miami’s Week 1 performance against the Pats is any indication…hell yes.

For the second time in four weeks dating back to last December, the Dolphins held New England’s so-called high-powered offense to 20 points in a victory.

In this case, 26-year-old Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who continues to get better, didn’t even have to play that well to out-duel and outperform the declining, 37-year-old Tom Brady. Knowshon Moreno was better Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen, and Mike Wallace proved to once again be more of a threat than any of New England’s no-name receivers.

Throw in that Cameron Wake was once again a beast on defense, making two game-changing plays on strip sacks of Brady, and the whole thing has us wondering if the Dolphins might be ready to recapture that AFC East crown in 2014.

I mean, why not? Brady isn’t the same. Hasn’t been since the last time he looked like a Pro Bowler, which was midway through the 2012 season. Age has caught up with him, and he no longer has the weapons to make up for that.

Meanwhile, Tannehill’s numbers improved steadily during his sophomore season and should continue to grow in Year 3. It helps that bully-gate is behind them and that the new-look offensive line — which currently features five completely fresh faces — seems to have it together. They gave up a single sack and just 10 pressures on 35 passing plays Sunday.

We already knew a defense that ranked eighth in terms of points allowed last year would probably be solid, especially with Wake tearing it up. But with Tannehill, Wallace, that line, and Moreno, it’s not crazy to wonder if the Dolphins might be able to ride a second-place schedule (they get to play Baltimore and Jacksonville, and the Pats have to face Cincinnati and Indianapolis) all the way to the top of a division that has for far too long been ruled by B&B.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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