Report: Patriots will travel to Miami early to acclimate to heat before Week 1 game

BOSTON — Normally, an NFL team will fly into a visiting city one day before playing a game. The Patriots will be heading to South Florida a little bit earlier, though.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi and former Rhode Island sportscaster Yianni Kourakis, the Patriots will be flying to Florida on Tuesday next week, giving them a few days on the practice field to get used to the blistering temperatures ahead of their Week 1 game against the Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 11.

The heat won’t be anything new for the Patriots, who have practiced all summer amid heat waves and a drought in New England before wrapping up their preseason with some joint practices under the Las Vegas sun.

But Miami has always been a difficult place for the Patriots to play, no matter the time of year. The Patriots have gone just 9-13 in Miami during Belichick’s head coaching tenure in New England. That includes losses in four of the last five years and seven of the last nine years.