Both the Patriots and Dolphins went into Sunday’s Week 5 game having lost three straight games.
The Patriots have struggled to find their footing on either side of the ball since halftime of their Week 2 overtime loss to the Seahawks.
The Dolphins have struggled to put together any semblance of an offense since losing starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in their Week 2 loss to Buffalo.
Both teams were in desperate need of a get-right game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Patriots fans, Miami was the team that “got right” (if you want to call it that), coming away with a 15-10 win.
Unfortunately for football fans everywhere, they had to sit through 60 minutes of what was undoubtedly the worst football game of the season thus far.
I really hope people had this on a second screen, or not even on a screen at all. And if you had this one as your main game, please tell me you had RedZone going on an iPad or something.
Just a gross football all around from both teams involved.
New England has now lost four in a row, falling to 1-4 on the year.
Here are your “Ups & Downs” from a frustrating loss at 1 Patriot Place. Let’s start positive:
Ups
- Christian Gonzalez: After the Patriots forced a punt on the Dolphins’ second series of the game, their special teams unit was called for an inexcusable 12 men on the field penalty to give Miami a first down (more on this later). You could start to hear some boo birds chirping in the middle of the first quarter.
Two plays later, the second-year cornerback erased that mistake.
Gonzalez completely jumped a slant route by Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and picked off quarterback Tyler Huntley.
Just like that, the crowd was back in it.
Four plays later, running back Rhamondre Stevenson was taking a 33-yard run to the house for the first touchdown of the ballgame.
It’s amazing how great players making big plays can get a crowd fired up, and turn the momentum of a game. Patriots should keep that in mind as they continue with their rebuild!
All joking aside, Gonzalez is becoming a mainstay in this section. That’s big news for Patriots fans moving forward.
In the second half, he nearly had his second pick of the game while covering Dolphins All-World receiver Tyreek Hill in the end zone. Huntley threw a bad ball to a completely blanketed Hill, and Gonzalez had the ball in his hands with room to run. Hill ended up punching his hand at the ball just in time to negate the would-be interception, helping preserve the Dolphins drive which led to a field goal for kicker Jason Sanders.
With how much New England’s offense has struggled to put points on the board, saving a Miami touchdown from happening on an almost interception has to get a mention.
- Brenden Schooler: Anytime a special teamer blocks a punt, he’s going to get into the “Ups” section.
It’s a hard and fast rule.
More on this blocked punt unfortunately coming up in “Downs.”
- Rhamondre Stevenson: After the four straight games with a fumble, things were heading in the wrong direction for the fourth-year running back. Stevenson needed to remind both his teammates and the fanbase that he’s among the best players on this team.
Four plays after the Gonzalez interception, Stevenson ran the ball perfectly behind a pulling Mike Onwenu, and with one more block from receiver Kayshon Boutte downfield, he was in the end zone for 6 to give the Patriots their first touchdown of the ballgame from 33 yards out.
Sure he was called for a holding penalty on their next possession, but I don’t think that’s enough to bump Stevenson into the “Downs” section.
On the day, Stevenson carried the ball 12 times for 88 yards to go along with his one rushing score.
Most importantly, Stevenson didn’t fumble. The Patriots have to hope that fact becomes a trend moving forward.
- Front 7: On the opening drive of the game, defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale sacked Huntley for a loss of seven. On the next play, Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert was bottled up at the line of scrimmage for no gain. This set up a 3rd and 17 from the Patriots 49. The Dolphins picked up 13 on third down with a pass to tight end Jonnu Smith (remember him?), leading to a field goal attempt on 4th down.
Sanders hit from 54, but the Patriots will take field goals all day when their offense has looked the way it has throughout the 2024 season thus far.
On the Dolphins’ third possession of the game, Miami got the ball just inside the red zone. Slowly but surely, they were making their way down the field trying to answer for the Stevenson touchdown run. On 3rd and 8 from the Patriots 20, Patriots defensive end Josh Uche sacked Huntley for a loss of 3.
This set up Sanders for a 41-yard field goal attempt, which he doinked off the upright. Who knows if a few extra yards helps Sanders kick that one through, so credit to the front seven for keeping more points off the board.
On Miami’s second possession of the second half, the Dolphins had driven the ball all the way to the Patriots 35 yard line. On 2nd and 8, Jacquelin Roy, who was signed to the 53-man roster yesterday, sacked Huntley for a loss of 5 yards. That set up a 3rd and 13 for Miami, which they were unable to convert after an 11-yard catch from receiver Jaylen Waddle. This led to another field goal for Miami, which means the front seven stopped another drive that looked destined for a touchdown.
Downs
- Discipline: 12 penalties for a loss of 105 yards.
[insert gif of Chris Martin singing “Yellow” here]
^yes that’s supposed to be there, I’m not putting a gif in my column.
And I’m not even including all the penalties that were declined!
A bad football team playing undisciplined football is a recipe for disaster. This made a pretty unwatchable game even more of a pain to sit through.
- Alex Van Pelt: I will join the choir of local media frustrated with the Patriots offensive coordinator.
For as effectively as the Patriots ran the ball on Sunday, why was Van Pelt insistent on forcing the passing game?
With the game as low scoring as it was, there was not a need to air the ball out. And if you were going to air the ball out, how about some creativity? How about some plays that have the ability to be explosive? Out routes to players in the flats is reminiscent of the Matt Patricia offense of 2022.
For anyone else that just had that sentence send a shiver up their spine - don’t worry, you’re not alone.
And oh by the way - that offense actually averaged more points (20.6 vs. 12.4) and yards (345.8 vs. 250.8) per game through the first five weeks of the season than this team. If that's not damning context, then I don't know what is.
Between Stevenson, running back Antonio Gibson and quarterback Jacoby Brissett, the Patriots ran the ball for 150 yards on Sunday.
Even though this was clearly the strength, it wasn’t utilized enough to get the much needed win.
- Offensive Line: If you’re surprised to see these guys towards the top of the “Downs” section for Week 5, you clearly have not followed this team in 2024.
Let’s start with the opening drive of the game, shall we?
After a great run by Gibson to open the ballgame, the offensive line allowed consecutive sacks on 2nd and 3 and 3rd and 6 to set up a punt on 4th and 15 from their own 25 yard line. Right out of the gate, the offense was stifled by its greatest weakness, completely sucking the life out of Gillette Stadium.
On the third possession of the game for the Patriots, New England had set themselves up with a 3rd and 1 from their own 40 yard line. Instead of being able to take advantage of this advantageous position on 3rd and short, starting center Nick Leverett was called for a false start. That led to a 3rd and 5 incompletion for Brissett, which inevitably led to a punt.
The fourth possession for the Patriots got started from the Dolphins 23-yard line thanks to special teamer Brenden Schooler (I promise more on his blocked punt is coming up soon). You would think this means at least a field goal for New England, right?
The Patriots offense would only go 8 yards over the next six plays. Contributing to that mess was a holding call by Leverett that set up the Patriots with a 1st and 19 from the Dolphins 20-yard line. Three plays later, kicker Joey Slye was missing from 33 yards out. More on that coming up (apologies for all the teases today, guys).
On the fifth possession of the game, on 3rd and 2 with 1:02 remaining in the first half, Brissett was under intense pressure, leading to an incompletion on an almost safety. That led to a 4th and 2 punt for New England from their own 13-yard line. This set up the Dolphins in prime position to score points before the half, when that was what the Patriots should have been doing. A botched hold on a field goal attempt from the 33-yard line bailed the offensive line out, but that doesn’t give them a pass in the “Ups & Downs” column.
On the Patriots’ second-to-last possession of the game, on 3rd and 10 with 1:00 remaining after a touchdown catch from receiver Ja’Lynn Polk was overturned, Brissett was forced to throw the ball away as a Dolphins rusher ran free up his right side. One play later (not counting Hunter Henry's false start that gave them 4th and 15), it was a turnover on downs, and the game was essentially over.
Was it their worst game? Absolutely not.
Did they help the team win? Absolutely not.
- Jacoby Brissett: On the first possession of the second half, Brissett was put in a position to make the play of the game.
With plenty of time in the pocket and a wide receiver DeMario Douglas open deep downfield, the Patriots had a 41-yard touchdown pass there for the taking.
Instead of hitting the second-year receiver in stride towards the boundary, Brissett overshot his man, throwing the ball more towards the end zone than he should have.
Six plays later, this drive ended in 3 points when it should’ve ended with at least 6.
With points at a premium behind that shaky offensive line, and explosive plays basically non-existent for this offense, you can’t miss those throws.
- Joey Slye: How does a kicker miss a field goal from 33 yards out after hitting a field goal from 64 yards out only one week prior?
The answer is that kickers are weird, and there is no explanation that will ever truly make sense.
After a blocked punt by Schooler gave the Patriots offense the ball at the Dolphins 23-yard line (I told you we'd get back to Schooler's blocked punt!), penalties and poor execution ensued, and New England’s offense had to hand the ball over to their stud kicker to bail them out after six plays only yielded 8 yards.
Stud looked like a dud, and the blocked punt was all for naught.
Things don’t get any easier for the Patriots in Week 6, as they’ll host the 4-1 Houston Texans in the 1:00 p.m. window at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots are currently a 7-point home underdog at both BetMGM and FanDuel.
“Maye Watch” continues…