FOXBORO — Last year, the Patriots missed out on the playoffs because they didn’t have the best record within AFC East divisional play. They don’t want that to happen again this year, so they played yesterday’s game against the Dolphins, who entered 3-0 in division play compared to the Pats’ 1-1, as if it were a must-win.

Leaving it all out on the field, New England escaped with a hard-fought, 27-17 victory to improve to 6-2 on the season, and 2-1 in division play.

“This was a big win,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAD THE BALL: It was no surprise that with the Dolphins starting two rookie cornerbacks, the Patriots tried to take advantage by relying on the arm of Tom Brady to guide them to victory. And he did just that, completing 25-of-37 passes for 332 yards and a touchdown, though there was some concern that Brady was forcing the ball down the field into double-coverage at times. It was Brady’s 27th career passing game of more than 300 yards, which is a new Patriots record. … Randy Moss (6 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD) and Wes Welker (9 catches, 84 yards) were his two favorite targets, while running back Laurence Maroney (20 carries for 80 yards, 1 TD) led the ground attack. While the Pats moved the ball up and down the field with relative ease, they stalled once they got inside the red zone, where they went 1-for-4.

WHEN THE DOLPHINS HAD THE BALL: The Patriots knew they were going to see Miami’s Wildcat offense. They just didn’t know when. It came on a key drive in the second quarter when the Dolphins lined up in the Wildcat with either backup quarterback Pat White or running back Ronnie Brown taking the direct snap. The Dolphins drove 80 yards on five runs and a pass interference penalty against the Pats to make it 10-10. From then on, the Dolphins had pretty good success running the Wildcat. In the end, the Patriots prevented the Dolphins from making enough plays to mount a comeback. Quarterback Chad Henne completed 19 of 34 passes for 219 yards, while White (6 carries for 45 yards), Brown (15 carries for 48 yards) and Williams (7 carries for 33 yards and 1 TD) led the Dolphins’ running attack.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Miami placekicker Dan Carpenter showed off his strong leg by booting a 52-yard field goal in the first quarter to give the Dolphins a 3-0 lead. In an attempt to avoid a big return from Patriots rookie Brandon Tate (2 returns, 62 yards), Carpenter then booted a squib kick that was recovered by offensive lineman Dan Connelly, who returned it 16 yards to the Patriots’ 37. … Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski did his best to put dangerous Dolphins returner Ted Ginn Jr. in a bad position to return kicks, but Ginn still averaged 24.3 yards per return (4 returns, 97 yards). … Gostkowski was 4-for-4 on field goals, hitting from 30, 38, 34 and 40 yards, and Patriots punter Chris Hanson had all three of his punts downed inside the Dolphins’ 20.

COACHING: Playing a chess match against Belichick, Miami coach Tony Sparano decided to take the ball in the second half rather than the first half after winning the opening coin flip. It turned out be a good move. The Dolphins intercepted Brady after just three offensive plays, which helped set up a 52-yard field goal by Carpenter. … Sparano and his coaching staff decided not to show the Patriots their Wildcat offense until the second quarter, and when they did, they were successful, as the Patriots’ defense looked unprepared even though they practiced against it all week. The Dolphins scored two touchdowns out of the Wildcat. … Belichick improved to 11-8 against the Dolphins in his tenure as Patriots head coach.

INTANGIBLES: The Dolphins are one of just six teams to have defeated the Patriots more than once in the last nine seasons, having beaten New England six times during that span.