Patriots Takeaways: Dolphins defense proves to be too much for struggling New England offense
While they started the game strong, the New England Patriots once again showed clear struggles on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball during Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins offense proved to be too much for the Patriots, who couldn't contain them throughout the game. And while New England's offense […]
While they started the game strong, the New England Patriots once again showed clear struggles on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball during Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins offense proved to be too much for the Patriots, who couldn't contain them throughout the game. And while New England's offense was able to make some plays, the Dolphins defense made necessary stops.
And Mac Jones showed some panic in the pocket once again, which resulted in some dangerous plays.
FINAL SCORE: Patriots 17, Dolphins 31
Notable Plays
First Quarter
– Pharaoh Brown recorded his shortest gain as a Patriots on the second drive of the game, going for eight yards.
– Christian Barmore comes up with a huge sack and Kyle Dugger follows it up with an interception. Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne capitalized after the quarterback connected with the receiver for a 24 yard touchdown.
– The Dolphins quickly respond after Tua Tagovailoa hits Tyreek Hill for a 42-yard touchdown. Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson was covering Hill and couldn't keep up with the receivers' speed.
End of 1st Quarter: Patriots 7, Dolphins 7
Second Quarter
– Keion White had a massive tackle for loss, pushing the Dolphins back nine yards. Kyle Dugger followed it up with a sack on Tagovailoa, losing six yards.
– Mack Wilson replaced linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, who went into the blue medical tent for a short moment before heading straight into the locker room with an undisclosed injury. He was marked as questionable to return.
– After J.C. Jackson gets flagged for a questionable and controversial defensive pass interference call, the Dolphins get a new set of downs and converted. Jackson gave up his second touchdown of the day after Tagovailoa hit Cedrick Wilson for the 1-yard touchdown.
– In his Dolphins debut, Jalen Ramsey intercepts Mac jones on a pass intended for Kendrick Bourne.
– Jason Sanders hits a 30-yard field goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half.
HALFTIME SCORE: Dolphins 17, Patriots 7
Third Quarter
– The Dolphins offense bullies the Patriots defense, and they charge down the field. Raheem Mostert finishes it off, running it in for the 1-yard touchdown.
– DeVante Parker gets hit hard by Deshon Elliott and was slow to get up, appearing to have some trouble getting his balance. There were no flags thrown on the play and Bill Belichick was visibly upset over this. Parker was taken to the side to get evaluated for a concussion.
Fourth Quarter
– Kendrick Bourne also went down with a knee injury to what appeared to be his right leg. He immediately took his helmet off and the trainers rushed over to him. The receiver was ruled out for the remainder of the game shortly after.
– JuJu Smith-Schuster gets his first touchdown with the New England Patriots after Mac connects with him in the end zone for a 3-yard score. With eight and a half minutes remaining New England trails by one touchdown.
– Jaylen Waddle is wide open and Tagovailoa capitalizes, finding him for the touchdown. The Dolphins lead by two scores with just over two minutes remaining.
– Mac Jones gets sacked on third down, bringing the Patriots total on third down conversions to 1-9 on the day.
– JuJu Smith-Schuster destroyed Dolphins S Brandon Jones trying to break up a pass on the final Patriots pass of the game. There was a flag on the play immediately and tensions flared afterwards. Smith-Schuster was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on that play, but he immediately went over to check in on Brandon Jones and make sure he was ok.
Patriots Inactive List:
WR Tyquan Thornton
QB Will Grier
OLB Josh Uche
T Vederian Lowe
T Calvin Anderson
WR Kayshon Boutte
Dolphins Inactive List
WR Robbie Chosen
QB Skylar Thompson
SS Jevon Holland
CB Xavien Howard
NT Brandon Pili
Observations
– The Dolphins won the toss and elected to defer.
– LB Ja'Whaun Bentley and WR Kendrick Bourne were ruled out during the game due to injuries.
– There were some really bad calls and no-calls by the officials, and while it may not have completely lost the game for the Patriots, that was certainly a factor during the game.
Refs miss blatant unnecessary roughness penalty in Patriots-Dolphins game
No sure how they missed this one.
