Patriots' poor performance against the Dolphins highlighted by these five key issues
MIAMI, FL – The New England Patriots escaped the cold for a bit, traveling to take on the Miami Dolphins in Sunday's Week 12 matchup. But from the first minute, it was not a pretty performance by the Patriots, who fell to the Dolphins 34-15. There were multiple issues on all sides of the ball, […]
MIAMI, FL – The New England Patriots escaped the cold for a bit, traveling to take on the Miami Dolphins in Sunday's Week 12 matchup.
But from the first minute, it was not a pretty performance by the Patriots, who fell to the Dolphins 34-15.
There were multiple issues on all sides of the ball, so let's get into the key observations from the game.
1. Penalties, Penalties, and More Penalties
The yellow flags were flying.
The Patriots were flagged 13 times over the course of the game, with 10 of them being accepted. And six were pre-snap penalties.
"It starts with me. It starts with me," head coach Jerod Mayo said after the game. "We've had these hiccups of games where the penalties really affected us, and it did today."
Towards the end of the first half, Mayo even challenged a completed catch by Jaylen Waddle. During the play, Marcus Jones was flagged for holding, but the Dolphins declined it since they picked up 19 yards.
This tweet said it all about this moment.
That penalty on Jones was the eighth of the game, and there were still 34 minutes of play remaining.
Here is the full list of penalties:
Vederian Lowe – False Start
Demontrey Jacobs – False Start
Vederian Lowe – False Start
Demontrey Jacobs – Holding
Austin Hooper – Neutral Zone Infraction
Anfernee Jennings – Neutral Zone Infraction
Vederian Lowe – Holding
Marcus Jones – Holding
Vederian Lowe – False Start
Mike Onwenu – Holding
Kayshon Boutte – Offensive Pass Interference
Kyle Dugger – Defensive Pass Interference
Kayshon Boutte – Offensive Pass Interference
So how do the Patriots go about fixing this?
“I don’t know if I can put my finger on it now," tight end Hunter Henry said. "I think it’s just that each guy has to lock in a little bit more, especially on the road. It wasn’t crazy loud, there’s a weird kind of buzz in here always, but it definitely gets loud early in the game and we just need to lock in better. Guys need to really lock in on that cadence a little bit more. We’re young too, so I think there was some of that a little bit. Like early in the game, you’re trying to get a jump on the snap, you’re ready to go, you’re fired up, so I think just our focus early in the game, getting ready to go.”
Marcus Jones had a simpler answer.
“It comes down to discipline. We have to play the game as it’s being played. If the refs call certain penalties, it doesn’t matter. They called it so we have to adjust from there.” (
2. Patriots Pass Defense Struggling
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was having no issues on Sunday against the Patriots defense.
He went 29-of-40 for 317 yards and four touchdowns. While he is known for getting the ball out quickly, New England couldn't even get anywhere near the quarterback to bring him down. Tagovailoa was only sacked twice, and it didn't happen until the second half.
3. Marcus Jones No Match for Jaylen Waddle
Waddle had a career day against the Patriots.
He finished with eight receptions for 144 yards, which was the second highest of his career. And not to mention, he also found his way into the end zone.
He marked a season high in receptions and yards.
Many times, it was Marcus Jones up against Waddle, but he just could not contain the receiver. The Patriots (or should we say Christian Gonzalez) did a good job of locking down Tyreek Hill, but the issue is the Dolphins found another weapon to use and they exploited that matchup.
“It was great throws and great catches at the end of the day and then also what they do is they make sure to get their players the ball quick as possible so a lot of screens and everything," Jones explained about the matchup. "So you know their schemes this week and this game actually works.”
4. Halftime Adjustments
When the first two quarters ended, the Patriots were down 24-0. So going into the locker room, they knew something was going to have to change if they wanted any chance in the second half.
While things were still sloppy, it did get a bit better,
So, CB Marcus Jones spoke about what changes were made.
“Yeah, every time there’s halftime we always address, just talk at us and just told us basically we are not playing our football right now which we weren’t. And we needed to come back the second half and do one play at a time. Everything can add up to something to where we can make the W (inaudible).”
5. Bad Day for the Offensive Tackles
Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs were having all kinds of trouble with the Dolphins defensive line.
The pre-snap penalties were a huge issue, but there were also issues with blocking that prevented Drake Maye from having time to make a play.
In the fourth quarter, the coaching staff actually made the decision to bench Jacobs, and put Sidy Sow in at tackle.
But… At Least The Patriots Have Drake Maye
The offensive line's poor performance gave Drake Maye no time to throw the ball in Sunday's loss. However, he managed to pull out one incredible play to get the Patriots on the board in the fourth quarter.
Despite having numerous defenders rushing towards him, Maye scrambled to the outside and hit Austin Hooper who was wide open down field. Since there was no one near the tight end, he got up and was able to get into the end zone.
The Patriots have their quarterback. They just need to figure out the rest of the team.
