FOXBOROUGH — As Jimmy Garoppolo marched his teammates down the field on his first couple of possessions as a starter, it was clear the Patriots had tailored a game plan to his strengths.

The play-calling was exceptional. Quick throws, power runs between the tackles, and some Julian Edelman jet sweeps sprinkled in. The Cardinals were on their heels early and often.

The result last Sunday night was a road victory over a team that is expected to make plenty of noise in the NFC. It was a victory few saw coming. It was the type of victory in which the Patriots take extra satisfaction.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?

While that axiom may work in many walks of life, it doesn’t work in football. Sticking with the same game plan — even a good one — is a recipe for disaster.

It’s why the Patriots have become so hard to defend from week to week. The ability to constantly reinvent your attack and how to defend opponents’ attacks is a secret to success and a hallmark of the Patriots during their current stretch of success.

There are countless instances of how New England’s chameleon attack has left teams dazed and confused, but perhaps the best came in 2014 when the Patriots dished out consecutive thumpings of quality opponents.

Coming off a midseason bye week, the Patriots pummeled the host Colts using a ground-and-pound attack featuring Jonas Gray. The little-known tailback rushed for more than 200 yards to spearhead New England’s 246-yard rushing day. The plan that day included an extra tackle to help clear bodies and create running lanes.

The following week presented a different type of challenge as the Patriots faced the Lions, who featured the best rush defense in the NFL.

This called for a much different plan to move the ball effectively and efficiently and staying away from Detroit’s strengths. This time the Patriots decided that instead of attacking with the run, they’d keep the Lions on the run by ratcheting up the tempo and trying to wear them down and knock them out.

Instead of Gray (who didn’t play a snap after arriving late to practice the previous Friday) the Patriots went to their bread and butter — Tom Brady. He aired it out 53 times (compared with just 20 runs) and exhausted the Detroit defense, which was on the field for 81 snaps, nearly 20 more than it was used to.

Of course, having Brady at the helm during this run has been huge. Being able to draw on his 16 years of experience and encyclopedic knowledge of the playbook makes it easier for coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to be flexible and unpredictable.

“I think the real challenge is if you watch four [Patriots] games, you see four different teams, so you’re not sure what you’re going to get,’’ said Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

The question now is can the Patriots be as unpredictable with Garoppolo at quarterback? Joseph is not so sure.

“It’s a little bit different with the younger quarterback,’’ said Joseph. “It’s more stable as far as the game plans. But in the past, [if] you watch four games, it’s four different game plans, it’s four different targets. It’s a huge difference in game plans. That’s the biggest fear going into a game like this.’’

That’s not to say Joseph doesn’t think Garoppolo can do it. In fact, he was very impressed by his skills as a field general in the opener.

“I saw a guy who played with great poise. He wasn’t rattled by the pressure,’’ said Joseph. “[He was] a guy that was an accurate passer, who had some mobility to escape the rush. I saw a guy playing way beyond his years.’’

That mobility is sure to be a key for any plan led by Garoppolo. He attacks with his quick release first and his deceptively quick feet second. Those skills allowed him to deftly avoid getting crushed by the Cardinals’ front seven. Garoppolo was sacked just twice for 7 yards.

Garoppolo’s skill set is one of the reasons Joseph won’t necessarily dial up more pressure on Sunday.

“Not really. Last week, he picked the pressures up and the ball is out of his hand so quick,’’ said Joseph, who is in his first year with the Dolphins, and as a coordinator, after several stops as a defensive backs coach. “I’m not going to go into the game saying we’ve got to bring more pressure and those things. We’re just going to play our game and see where it lies at the end.’’

Garoppolo knows what lies ahead — a new opponent and a new game plan. He knows last week’s game is over, the game plan is in the trash, and there’s no carryover to this week.

“Yeah, it’s a fine line, no question about it,’’ said Garoppolo, when asked how he balances the euphoria of last week with the discipline needed to focus on the Dolphins. “You don’t want to be riding that wave because then you’ll fall behind on the next team — Miami for us. It’s a good thing that we’ve got the confidence [from beating the Cardinals], but that’s about it. You don’t want to think about it too much because you’ll get stuck in the past, and that’s not a good thing in this league.’’

One of the benefits of game planning for division games is familiarity. Though Garoppolo has never faced the Dolphins (except for a mop-up cameo last year) he has been front and center for every game.

“I think the big thing is to be familiar with who you’re playing against, and then educate yourself and your players with what they have done,’’ said McDaniels. “It’s hard to prepare for everything that a team could possibly do . . . We’re going to work hard this week to understand who we’re playing, how they play, and then try to put a game plan together so that they go out there and play fast.’’

Though McDaniels is known for his creative and varied approaches to expose opponents’ weaknesses, he said it’s important to concentrate on your own strengths first.

“I think as an offensive coach you try to focus more on what we need to do for ourselves and for our players to put together a plan that we feel comfortable executing regardless of what the defense does,’’ said McDaniels.

More often than not, McDaniels’s game plans makes opponents uncomfortable.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.