The Patriots are officially eliminated from postseason contention.
New England, now 6-8, fell to a short-handed Dolphins squad, XX, Sunday afternoon in Miami. It is now 1-5 since 2013 in December and January games played in South Florida.
Both units did not play well for the Patriots, as the offense could not get into the end zone, while the defense was gashed on the ground by a Miami offense that entered the game dead last in the league in terms of yards per carry.
Cam Newton finished 17-for-27 with 207 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. The 207 passing yards were his most since Week 11.
Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa became the first rookie quarterback to beat the Patriots since 2013.
Here are 10 quick thoughts on the game.
1. Newton was inconsistent. The veteran made some very nice throws, but also made some that made you shake your head. Once again, the quarterback was better with his mid-to-deep throws and struggled with the shorter throws. He did not really show anything different than he has over the course of the year and it still feels the team can upgrade at the position this season.
2. New England’s tackling and pursuit was a major issue as the defense missed a number of tackles and lost containment on the edge a few other times as well. This has been a reoccurring issue for the unit this season and it’s something the Patriots defense historically hasn’t had a problem with. It also looks even worse considering the Dolphins entered the game ranked 27th in rushing and had a season-high 250 surpassing the previous high of 132.
3. The loss was made even worse considering how many players the Dolphins were without. Tight end Mike Gesicki, wide receiver DeVante Parker and wide receiver Jakeem Grant were all inactive, and with wide receiver Preston Williams on injured reserve and Myles Gaskin on the COVID list, the Dolphins were without their top five pass-catchers. This was not a good showing for the Patriots defense at all.
4. The Patriots got a huge break with four minutes left in the first half when Newton fumbled trying to get an extra yard or two on third down along the sideline, which was picked up and returned for a touchdown. But, it was reviewed and determined a Miami player was out of bounds and touched the ball. Therefore it was ruled dead and the Patriots retained possession. Nick Folk connected on a short field goal, so the review was essentially a 10-point swing.
5. New England caught another break in the second half when Miami converted on a fake punt when punter Matt Haack connected with Kamu Grugier-Hill for a first down, but he did not report as an eligible receiver. That brought the play back and forced Miami to punt for real. This was not a good play for the Patriots special teams.
6. Besides fumbling in the third quarter, Jakobi Meyers had another solid game. He finished with seven receptions for 111 yards. The undrafted rookie has proven this year he can be a solid WR3 in the NFL — not bad for a player who was a quarterback up until his sophomore year at NC State.
7. N'Keal Harry did not do much after showing some promise a week ago. He had just one catch for 12 yards on two targets and did not really run many routes down the field.
8. Another bright spot has been Folk. He went 4-for-4 in the game, which means he’s now made 25 straight field goals. That is a new career-high for the veteran. His ability was questioned heading into the season, but he has certainly exceeded expectations and now could be considered to return again in 2021.
9. It was interesting Sony Michel wasn’t used much after a good start to the game. Michel finished with 10 carries for 74 yards, but wasn’t really used at all during the middle of the game. It's worth wondering what the reasoning was given the Patriots' success early on.
10. The loss eliminates the Patriots from playoff contention and now it’s worth wondering if Bill Belichick will turn things over to Jarrett Stidham and give the second-year player a shot. It would come on Monday Night Football as the Patriots will host the Bills.
