Let’s flash back to the end of November 1993. The Patriots were 1-10 in their first season under Bill Parcells. The Dolphins had just defeated the Cowboys on Thanksgiving in the Leon Lett game to get to 9-2. And these records were consistent with the level of success each franchise had achieved. At that point in time, New England’s franchise record was an underwhelming 217-269-9, which translates to a 0.447 winning percentage. Miami, meanwhile, was one of the best franchises in league history, with a 253-154-4 record, a 0.620 winning percentage.
But things have been very different since then. Miami lost their final 5 games of the regular season, while the Patriots ended the year on a 4-game winning streak. And, you know, lots of good things for happened for New England since then, too.
As crazy as this might be for younger fans to believe, the Dolphins *still* had a better franchise record than the Patriots entering the 2018 season. Miami was 445-351-4, a 0.5588 winning percentage, while New England was at 489-386-9, a 0.5583 winning percentage.
On the morning of October 21, 2018, the Dolphins and Patriots were both 4-2, slightly upping Miami’s franchise winning percentage to 0.5596 and New England’s to 0.5590. That afternoon, Miami would lose to the Lions while New England would beat the Bears. While this was not a big story at the time, it was a momentous moment for the two franchises: the Dolphins were now 449-354-4, giving them a 0.5589 winning percentage, while the Patriots were 494-388-9, a 0.5595 winning percentage.
It means, after all these years, the Patriots finally had a better franchise record than the Dolphins. And, of course, New England didn’t let up. As of the end of the 2018 season, the Dolphins have a franchise record of 452-360-4 (0.556), while New England is 500-391-9 (0.561).
The Patriots entered the AFL in 1960, with the Dolphins joining them in 1966. Here are the franchise winning percentages for both teams as of the end of each season. It was quite a large gap that the Patriots overcame:
It is good to see the underdogs finally get some measure of success.