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The Patriots traveled to Miami Gardens, Florida on Sunday and took a 31-17 relative beating at the hand of the AFC East-leading Dolphins.
The loss gives New England their sixth of the season and at 2-6 through eight weeks, will have ample decisions to make as the 2023 trade deadline approaches this coming Tuesday.
Here are five immediate thoughts from Sunday’s game:
5 - Brutal refereeing rears its ugly head in Miami.
The quality of calls from referees across the NFL has been brutal this season, and it spilled into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
There were several egregious calls (and non-calls/picked up flags) that unfortunately had to help tell the story of how this game played out. Here are just a few examples:
- J.C. Jackson called for a soft DPI on Tyreek Hill in the first half.
- Blatant illegal motion from the Dolphins. Two players were moving and both weren’t set before the snap.
- Non-call on a clear helmet-to-helmet hit on DeVante Parker.
- Picked up flag on Dolphins ineligible man down field.
Bill Belichick could be seen giving it to the referees on the sideline all afternoon. Would it have changed the outcome of the game? Maybe not, but the stripes still have to be better.
4 - Kyle Dugger is a building block, not a trade candidate.
Heading into Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the question for teams around the league becomes whether they should buy or sell. For the Patriots, one of their “sell” candidates, in theory, is safety Kyle Dugger as he enters a contract year.
Don’t do it.
The 2020 second-round pick out of Lenoir Rhyne was awesome for New England on Sunday, tallying nine tackles, a sack, an interception a tackle for loss, and a pass deflection.
They haven’t found a way to extend him yet, but Dugger should be at the top of the Patriots’ in-house free agents list this offseason.
3 - Can I interest you in a look at the Patriots’ pass-catcher situation?
The Patriots have botched the construction of their wide receiver room over the last several years, and that became evident even before Sunday’s game kicked off. Tyquan Thornton, who New England selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, was a healthy scratch in Miami.
Then throughout the contest, the team lost both DeVante Parker (head) and Kendrick Bourne (knee) to injury and JuJu Smith-Schuster, who New England gave a three-year, $33 million contract to this offseason, only saw action because of it.
Care for some more salt in the wound? DeAndre Hopkins, who the Patriots were outbid for by the Titans this summer, finished with four catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday while George Pickens, who the Steelers selected two picks after New England took Thornton, scored his third touchdown of the season for Pittsburgh.
It’s a mess, and while an occasional spark from a guy like Pop Douglas makes it bearable, they have plenty of work to do in the weapons department moving forward.
2 - Patriots finally caused some turnovers.
The Patriots were one of the better teams in the NFL at forcing turnovers last season, and that seemed to go away early on this season.
On Sunday, that changed. New England was able to force Miami into two giveaways: a Kyle Dugger interception in the first half that led to a Patriots touchdown and a Tua Tagovailoa/Raheem Mostert fumble on a handoff that turned into three points.
It simply wasn’t enough, however, to slow down Miami’s historic offense…
1 - Dolphins' dynamic offense the difference.
After shutting down the Dolphins’ dynamic duo of wide receivers in Week 2, the Patriots had no answers for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on Sunday. The two combined for 233 yards and two touchdowns on 15 catches and had the secondary in no mans land time and time again.
After employing a three-high safety look and holding them in relative check just six weeks ago, they went a different route this time with cornerback Jonathan Jones in and rookie Christian Gonzalez out, and the speed killed.
Motion (whether legal or not) was a problem as well and it also makes you think about how the Patriots can improve their play-calling and scheme to adjust to the more modern offenses of the NFL.
At 2-6, that and more should be and could be on the table.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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