The lowest moment for the Patriots in their excruciating 20-7 loss to the Dolphins Sunday came when Tua Tagovailoa connected with Jaylen Waddle over the middle of the field for a 47-yard touchdown on 4th-and-7.
But the worst part for the Patriots wasn’t their utter lack of execution. It was what the gutsy play call says about how the Dolphins, and their rookie 39-year-old head coach, view the six-time Super Bowl champions.
What is wrong with the Patriots' offensive line?
They don’t think the Patriots are anybody to fear.
The Patriots have now lost seven of their last nine games in South Florida, and astonishingly, Tagovailoa is 4-0 against Belichick. While Tagovailoa’s stat line was solid — 23-of-33 for 270 yards and a touchdown — it was a laborious performance to watch. Most of Tagovailoa’s throws look excruciating, and few of them travel down the field (his longest pass was only in the air for 25 yards).
While Tyreek Hill finished with 94 receiving yards, his average depth of target was 9.1 yards — a career low. The Dolphins, who were aided by three brutal Patriots turnovers, didn’t play a great game.
Yet, Mike McDaniel was willing to take the big risk before halftime. In a previous era, a first-year head coach nursing a 10-0 lead over the Patriots would’ve happily just run down the clock with only 18 seconds remaining. With the ball at New England’s 42, it would’ve taken the Patriots just a couple of plays to get down into field goal range if Miami failed to convert.
But McDaniel went for it, showing a complete lack of respect for Mac Jones and the Patriots’ woebegone offense.
McDaniel was awarded with a score.
“He’s gonna need a wheelbarrow for his nuts,” said Hill afterwards.
The days of inexperienced opponents wilting at the sight of Belichick are over. The Patriots have lost their last four games against the Bills and Dolphins by an aggregate score of 133-69. Forget about catching Buffalo. It looks like the Patriots are going to duke it out against the bottom-feeding Jets.
If anything, Belichick acted like the more intimidated coach heading into Sunday’s matchup. He decided it would be good for the Patriots to fly down to South Florida five days in advance and practice at a rinky-dink college field with no goal posts. The end result was a seven-point effort.
McDaniel is the antithesis of Belichick: he’s young, charismatic and jokey. We’ll see how his players ultimately respond to him. Sunday was an uneven effort.
But we already know how McDaniel responds when faced against Belichick. His nuts are passing him in a wheelbarrow.