This was not the way the Patriots wanted to go into the postseason.
The Patriots were very sloppy in all three phases and fell to the Dolphins 33-24 Sunday in South Florida. New England is now 2-9 in December/January games played in Miami under Bill Belichick.
After a bad start, Mac Jones and the Patriots rallied, but it was too big of a hill to climb. New England had a chance to stop Miami late and get the ball back for its offense, but Miami picked up two first downs in the closing minutes. Jones finished 20-for-30 passing for 261 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception in the loss.
Rookie defensive tackle Christian Barmore suffered a leg injury late in the game that looked like it could be serious enough to keep him out for the playoffs. That would be a major loss for the New England defense.
Buffalo is in line to beat the Jets, so the Patriots will not know who they play on Wild Card Weekend until after Sunday Night Football. A Raiders win means the Patriots will travel to Buffalo and a tie/Chargers win means the Patriots will play at Cincinnati.
Here are 10 quick thoughts from the game.
1. Mistakes were the biggest issue for the Patriots in the loss, especially on special teams. Brandon Bolden was called for unnecessary roughness on a fake punt in the first half and then on the last play of the third quarter Lawrence Guy was called for an illegal formation for lining up over the center. Both plays gave Miami first downs. Those weren’t the only mistakes made in the game, as penalties, failing to hold the edge, running wrong routes were other issues the team had. A number of the Patriots’ mistakes were preseason-like and not Week 18 heading into the playoffs.
2. The game showed what has been the case all season long of what a different team the Patriots are when playing from ahead and on their terms. The offense just doesn't have enough fire power in the passing game to be able to come from behind, especially when trailing by double digits. If the Patriots have any shot at winning a playoff game they will need to play from ahead, and that starts with getting off to a good start.
3. Bolden (two touchdowns) was the best player on offense in the game. He played more than Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson, which was interesting. Stevenson left the game in the first half with a head injury, but returned, and Harris entered the game battling a nagging hamstring injury. We'll never find out, but perhaps the Patriots were managing Harris and Stevenson's snaps so they are as fresh as possible for the playoffs.
4. The Patriots got off to a poor start, which could potentially be a major problem come the playoffs. It allowed a touchdown on Miami’s opening drive and then Jones threw a pick-6 on the Patriots’ third offensive play of the game. These types of starts will likely be insurmountable in the postseason. It illustrates just how slim the Patriots’ margin for error is.
5. At the end of the first half the Patriots had fourth-and-1 from midfield and instead of running the play, it looked like Jones and the offense tried to draw Miami offsides. Jones took a false start penalty and the Patriots punted. It was another instance where the Patriots were not aggressive with Jones and played things very conservative.
6. Isaiah Wynn left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and Justin Herron replaced him at left tackle. Some may wonder why not Mike Onwenu, but the second-year player doesn’t have much experience playing left tackle, it’s all on the right side. It’s worth wondering if Wynn is out for the playoffs if the team considers moving Trent Brown to that side and having Onwenu play right tackle.
7. The offensive line had some issues blocking the Miami front, and this started even when Wynn was in the game. Jones was under pressure for the vast majority of the game and it certainly made him uncomfortable. Jones is at his best when he’s kept clean and can utilize play-action. That was not the case on Sunday.
8. Matthew Judon hasn’t been the same player the last few weeks as he was earlier in the season. The edge rusher failed to set the edge on a few plays and also took a bad roughing the passer penalty at the end of the first half. The defense is at its best when he’s playing well, so his play will need to pick up for the playoffs.
9. There are still plenty of questions with Tua Tagovailoa as Miami’s quarterback of the future. He took a brutal sack at the end of the first half, which prevented them from getting a field goal attempt off and made a few questionable throws. The Dolphins could likely do a lot better at this position.
10. Dont’a Hightower was inactive for the game, which seems to be a case where the Patriots want him to be as healthy as possible for the playoffs. Meanwhile, N’Keal Harry returned to action after being a healthy scratch last week. Perhaps this could change for the playoffs with Kristian Wilkerson being bumped up from the practice squad.
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