FOXBORO — It’s been two weeks since the Patriots played a game; three weeks since they played a game in this country.

When last we saw the AFC East leaders, they were showing the British — as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — what “real” football was all about, putting a pounding on the overmatched and overwhelmed Bucs, 35-7, at historic Wembley Stadium in London.

That came on the heels of a 59-0 rout at not-so-historic Gillette Stadium of Tennessee’s terrible Titans, who were thoroughly humiliated and utterly embarrassed after allowing Tom Brady to throw for five touchdowns in the second quarter.

As good as the Patriots looked in winning those two games and improving their record to 5-2, it must be noted that the Bucs and Titans are two very bad teams who have yet to win a game.

So what should we be looking for as the Pats return to action?

Today’s opponent, the defending AFC East champion Miami Dolphins — let us say that again, in the highly-unlikely case that Bill Belichick forgot to remind his charges of the fact — the, ahem, “defending AFC East champion Miami Dolphins” come into Foxboro under .500, at 3-4.

They are, however, 3-0 against divisional opponents, having swept the Jets — who, it should be remembered, put a whuppin’ on the Pats in Week Two at the Meadowlands. Their losses have come on the road at San Diego and Atlanta, as well as to the Saints and Colts, both undefeated, in Miami.

While the Dolphins have a losing record, they are not total losers, like the Bucs and Titans.

The Pats may have thought that the last time the Fish came to Foxboro. That was the third weekend of September, 2008, when Miami came in having lost 21 of its previous 22 games while the Patriots had won an NFL-record, 21 consecutive regular-season games.

Yet Miami was much the better team that day, primarily because they befuddled Belichick’s boys with a new variation on a very old theme — the “Wildcat” formation, which utilizes a direct snap to a back who is equally capable of running or passing, much like the old “Single Wing.”

It was versatile running back Ronnie Brown who played the starring role, running four times and scoring on three of them, including a 62-yarder in the third quarter. He also threw a 19-yard TD pass to tight end Anthony Fasano.

“We couldn’t stop them,” Belichick said. “I don’t know what else there is to say.”

It was wide receiver Randy Moss who was unstoppable when the two teams had their rematch in Miami.

Inexplicably, the Dolphins didn’t often devote double coverage to Moss, who had set an NFL record in 2007 with 23 touchdown receptions — four of them against Miami.

“I think they disrespected me by playing single coverage,” Moss said, after catching 8 passes for 125 yards and 3 TDs in a 48-28 New England romp. “I don’t know why (Miami coach Tony Sparano) disrespected me like that. If I see single coverage, I can beat anybody in this league. Anytime I feel disrespected, I want to go out there and make it happen.”

There’s no doubt that Moss will get plenty of respect this afternoon, especially with the Dolphins starting a pair of rookies — Vontae Davis and Sean Smith — on the corners because of a knee injury to their best cover man, cornerback Will Allen. There’s no way Sparano is going to leave his inexperienced corners 1-on-1 with an explosive, future Hall of Fame receiver like Moss.

It is out of concern for the Pats’ highly productive passing game that the Dolphins are likely to try to do today what they did in Week Two against Peyton Manning and the Colts — control the ball in order to keep it out of Brady’s hands.

It was a bizarre game the Dolphins had with Indianapolis, as Miami had the ball for a whopping 45:07, yet still lost, 27-23. Manning made the most of his time, throwing for 303 yards and two TDs as the Colts consistently scored quickly.

Not since 1977 had an NFL team won a game despite having the ball for less than 15 minutes.

“It was really disheartening,” Sparano said. “That’s exactly the formula to beat that team.”

It’s also the formula to beat the Patriots, who are allowing 4.5 yards per rush.

The Dolphins hope to control the ball, and the clock, with the running of Brown and Ricky Williams, rather than relying on the passing of second-year QB Chad Henne, who’ll be making only his fifth career start after stepping in when Chad Pennington was injured.

The Dolphins caught the Pats by surprise here a year ago. It’ll be surprising if they can do it again.