Why Road Win Over Patriots Was Extra Special For Dolphins Player

Sunday was not an ordinary game for Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.

For starters, Miami occupied the "Sunday Night Football" slot for Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season. And the primetime showdown brought Wilkins back to his old stomping grounds, where the Patriots hosted the Dolphins for the first of two meetings between the AFC East rivals this campaign.

It proved to be a great homecoming for the Springfield, Mass. native, too. The 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft logged seven total tackles, including a sack, in the Fins' 24-17 win over New England at Gillette Stadium. After the game, Wilkins acknowledged the added significance of his latest outing.

"It's special for me personally because it's nice coming back home to my home state," Wilkins told reporters, per a team-provided transcript. "It's always fun to get a win against a division opponent on the road. It was a big win tonight. Good energy. It was a lot of fun to play in this environment."

Wilkins wasn't the only Dolphins player who relished the team's win in Foxboro, Mass. Tyreek Hill found it "tremendous" to spoil the evening for "real nasty" Patriots fans, who the star wide receiver believes are the "worst" in the NFL.

Hill, Wilkins and company will return home Sunday for a matchup with the 0-2 Broncos. The Patriots, meanwhile, will play their first road game of the season at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets.