Miami (7-9) at New England (13-3)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, FOX
BetMGM NFL odds: Patriots by 10 1/2
Against the spread: Dolphins 8-8; Patriots 10-5-1
Series record: Dolphins lead 64-56
Last meeting: Patriots won 33-27 in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Sept. 14, 2025.
Last week: Dolphins beat Buccaneers 20-17; Patriots beat Jets 42-10.
Dolphins offense: overall (25), rush (10), pass (25), scoring (22).
Dolphins defense: overall (21), rush (24), pass (18), scoring (21).
Patriots offense: overall (4), rush (13), pass (3), scoring (5).
Patriots defense: overall (7), rush (8), pass (10), scoring (5).
Turnover differential: Dolphins minus-2; Patriots plus-1
QB Quinn Ewers. The seventh-round pick threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions last week in his second career start and has shown a quick processing ability and poise in the pocket that Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said is not common for a rookie quarterback. Ewers' 144 passing yards in the first half last week against Tampa Bay were the most by a rookie QB in the first half of a game this season.
QB Drake Maye. The MVP candidate enters the week first in the NFL with a 71.7 percent completion rate. He also has 4,203 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes. Tom Brady has the New England record for a season with a 68.9 percent completion rate in 2007. Maye is on pace to be the eighth quarterback in NFL history to finish a season completing 70% or better of his passes with at least 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes.
Ewers vs. Patriots defense. This will be the third straight start for the Dolphins quarterback and will be the Patriots' first look at him. Ewers struggled in his first start, throwing two interceptions in a loss to Cincinnati two weeks ago. But he recovered to toss two touchdowns last week in the win over Tampa Bay. It's a good tune-up for a Patriots defense that could get back DT Milton Williams, who's been on injured reserve since Nov. 15 with an ankle injury.
Dolphins: LB Jordyn Brooks, the NFL's leading tackler, will try to play despite a hamstring injury. TE Darren Waller (groin) went on injured reserve Friday morning. ... S Minkah Fitzpatrick (calf) will miss his third straight game. ... RB De'Von Achane (shoulder) is doubtful. ... LB Chop Robinson (concussion), WR Jaylen Waddle (ribs), C Aaron Brewer (neck), and RT Austin Jackson (back/groin) are questionable.
Patriots: Along with Williams, LT Will Campbell (knee) is on track to return from a four-week stint on injured reserve. ... LB Harold Landry III (knee) will miss his second straight game. ... LB Robert Spillane (ankle) has missed the past three games and is also out. ... LG Jared Wilson (concussion protocol) will miss his second straight game. ... DL Khyiris Tonga is dealing with a foot issue and is out.
The Dolphins are 5-2 against the Patriots under coach Mike McDaniel. ... Miami has won eight of the past 10 against New England. The Patriots haven't swept the annual series since the 2016 season.
With a win on Sunday, the Dolphins will finish 8-9 for the second straight season. Miami was eliminated from postseason contention after a Week 15 loss to Pittsburgh. ... The Dolphins offense ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (158.0) since the team’s win against Buffalo in Week 10. ... Miami’s defense ranks fifth in the NFL in third down defense since Week 8. ... RB De’Von Achane was selected to his first career Pro Bowl this season and was voted the Dolphins Dan Marino Most Valuable Player for the 2025 season. Achane leads the NFL in rushing average (5.7) among running backs and ranks fifth in rushing yards (1,350). He also ranks fourth in receptions (67) and receiving yards (488) and is tied for fifth most in receiving touchdowns (four) among running backs. ... TE Darren Waller is tied for the seventh-most receiving touchdowns (six) among tight ends this season despite playing in only nine games. ... LB Jordyn Brooks leads the NFL with 172 tackles (95 solo) entering Week 18. ... LB Tyrel Dodson is the only player in the NFL this season with at least 100 tackles, 5.0 sacks, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. ... If Waddle plays on Sunday despite a rib injury, he will need 90 yards receiving to reach 1,000 yards in a season for the fourth time in his career. ... The Patriots have already wrapped up their first AFC East title since 2019. With a victory against Miami and a loss or tie by the Denver Broncos against the Chargers, New England would also secure the conference’s top seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye. ... WR Stefon Diggs has a team-leading 970 receiving yards and needs 30 this week for his seventh 1,000-yard season. It would be the first 1,000-yard season by a New England player since the 2019 season when WR Julian Edelman finished with 1,117 receiving yards. ... RB TreVeyon Henderson has four touchdown runs of 50-plus yards in 2025, tied for the third most in a single season in NFL history. Since 2000, the most 50-yard runs in a season is seven by Adrian Peterson in 2012 with Minnesota. ... RB Rhamondre Stevenson enters this week in sixth place on the team’s career rushing list with 3,538 yards. He needs 70 yards to move past Kevin Faulk (3,607) into fifth place. ... CB Marcus Jones has returned two punts for a touchdown in 2025, joining Troy Brown (2001), Irving Fryar (1985) and Mike Haynes (1976) as the only Patriots to return two punts for a touchdown in a season. If he returns a punt for a TD against the Dolphins, he will be the first Patriots player with three in a season. ... LB Harold Landry III is leading the Patriots with 8 1/2 sacks. ... LB Robert Spillane has a team-leading 97 total tackles. If he has at least three this week he will reach 100 total tackles for the third straight season after finishing with 148 tackles in 2023 and a Raiders-record 158 total tackles in 2024.
It could be another signature week for Maye, who completed 19 of 23 (82.6%) of his passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 2 win over the Dolphins.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers (14) looks to pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — The United Arab Emirates said early Saturday it had withdrawn all its troops from Yemen.
The move comes after days of airlifts by UAE military aircraft following an order to withdraw from anti-Houthi forces in Yemen following Saudi Arabia pushing back against the advance of Emirati-backed separatists there.
“The UAE forces follows the implementation of a previously announced decision to conclude the remaining missions of counter-terrorism units,” a Defense Ministry statement said. “The process has been conducted in a manner that ensured the safety of all personnel and carried out in coordination with all relevant partners.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
ADEN, Yemen (AP) —
Yemen 's separatist movement on Friday announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south and demanded other factions in the war-torn country accept the move in an escalation of a confrontation that has pitted Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against each other.
The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council depicted the announcement as a declaration of independence for the south. But it was not immediately clear if the move could be implemented or was largely symbolic. Last month, STC-linked fighters seized control of two southern provinces from Saudi-backed forces and took over the Presidential Palace in the south's main city, Aden. Members of the internationally recognized government — which had been based in Aden — fled to the Saudi-capital Riyadh.
On Friday, Saudi warplanes bombed camps and military positions held by the STC in Hadramout province as Saudi-backed fighters tried to seize the facilities, a separatist official said. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed STC forces and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for the separatists.
Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their allies on the ground in Yemen have all been part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who control the north in the country's decade-long civil war. The coalition's professed goal has long been to restore the internationally recognized government, which was driven out of the north by the Houthis. But tensions between the factions and the two Gulf nations appear to be unraveling the coalition, threatening to throw them into outright conflict and further tear apart the Arab world's poorest country.
The head of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaid, issued a video statement Friday saying that the constitution his group issued would be in effect for two years, after which a a referendum would be held on “exercising the right to self-determination for the people of the South.” During those two years, he said, the “relevant parties” in north and south Yemen should hold a dialogue on “a path and mechanisms that guarantee the right of the people of the South.”
He said that if the other factions don't agree to his call or if they take military action, “all options remain open.”
The 30-article “constitution” proclaimed the creation of “the State of South Arabia," covering the same territory of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, the independent southern state that existed from 1967-1990.
It seemed to be the most overt move yet by the STC toward its long-proclaimed goal of independence. In the confusion that has reigned in the south in recent weeks, it was not clear what practical impact it would have. But the declaration could set back efforts to avert an outright conflict between the separatists and the rest of the Saudi-led coalition.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the country was dealing with the situation “with restraint, coordination, and a deliberate commitment to de-escalation, guided by a foreign policy that consistently prioritizes regional stability over impulsive action.”
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen demands the withdrawal of the STC-linked Southern Shield forces from the two governorates they seized, Hadramout and Mahra, as part of de-escalation efforts. The STC has so far refused to hand over its weapons and camps.
Saudi-backed fighters, known as the National Shield Forces, advanced on two STC-camps in Hadramout, said a senior STC official, Ahmed bin Breik, a former governor of the province. The separatist forces refused to withdraw and in response, Saudi planes struck the camps, he said.
Mohamed al-Nakib, spokesperson for the STC-backed forces, said the strikes caused fatalities, without providing details. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.
He told the AP later Friday that “intense clashes” erupted between his forces and the National Shield forces across several areas of Hadramout.
It was not clear if the Saudi-backed forces succeeded in retaking the camps.
Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout who was chosen Friday by Yemen's internationally recognized government to command the Saudi-led forces in the governorate, said the move to reclaim the camps was “not a declaration of war and is not seeking an escalation.” He said it was a “pre-emptive measure to remove weapons.”
In a post on X, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, said the kingdom had tried “all efforts with STC” for weeks "to stop the escalation" and to urge the separatists to leave Hadramout and Mahra, only to be faced with “continued intransigence and rejection from Aidarous al-Zubaidi."
Al-Jaber said the STC had not permitted a Saudi delegation's jet to land in Aden, despite having agreed on its arrival with some STC leaders to find a solution that serves “everyone and the public interest.”
Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with STC, said Saudi Arabia on Thursday imposed requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah. The ministry denounced the decision. There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities.
ِA spokesperson with the transport ministry told the AP late Thursday that all flights from and to the UAE were suspended until Saudi Arabia reverses these reported measures.
Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Yemeni workers chat at a popular market in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
A Southern Yemen soldier of Southern Transitional Council (STC) stands at a check point, in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
A Yemeni rides his motorbike under a banner honoring Houthi leaders who were killed during Israeli airstrikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
Southern Yemen soldiers of Southern Transitional Council (STC) at a check point, in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
