U-G-L-Y, that Patriots win has no alibi. New England is guilty of playing the bad football head coach Mike Vrabel lambasted when he took the job last winter – even if they got a victory over a desperate divisional opponent Sunday.
They won, but they sure do have a lot to fix out there.
Look – it hasn’t been easy for the Patriots in Miami, (although, it hasn’t been easy for them anywhere recently). Credit Vrabel’s Patriots for showing tremendous fight late in a one-score game. They hung tough and quite literally sweated the game out in Hard Rock, the stadium that has been a house of horrors for New England dating back to the Brady years. They had a few jump scares of their own Sunday – most notably, what first looked like a touchdown by De’Von Achane in the last 90 seconds of the game, (the running back had stepped out of bounds well before the endzone).
Let’s discuss the good stuff first: Drake Maye. The quarterback looked remarkably better than he did last week and threw for 230 passing yards, two touchdowns, and had zero interceptions. He added another 31 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. No notes. He was brilliant.
Equally fabulous was Rhamondre Stevenson, the big-bodied back who had the play of the day on offense when he snagged a 55-yard pass from Maye in the second half. Stevenson continues to play mistake-free ball.
Milton Williams looked every bit worth his contract when he sealed the victory with a sack. He also forced Tua Tagovailoa out of bounds for a critical three-and-out early in the fourth quarter.
But brain farts and goofballs abounded between Maye’s first touchdown and that sack. Kicker Andy Borregales missed two extra kicks and shanked a late-game kickoff. Vrabel still praised him for his 53-yard field goal in the second half, postgame:
“I’m happy for Andy, that’s why he’s here,” he said. “I thought after the first two he really settled down.”
Special teams also allowed Malik Washington a 74-yard touchdown on a punt returner before responding with their own, courtesy of Antonio Gibson.
The Patriots gave up 27 points from a Miami team who posted just eight in Week 1. Defensively, Robert Spillane missed some concerning back-to-back tackles and cornerback Christian Gonzalez was sorely missed, as Tyreek Hill turned the clock back to Week 1 of 2024 with a 47-yard reception with Alex Austin in coverage. The team was without coordinator Terrell Williams, and at times, it felt like they were flirting with chunk play disaster.
Josh McDaniels’ offense put up 33 points and that’s notable because the Patriots have struggled to score more than 20 in recent seasons. But the operation was far from smooth, and it wasn’t just rookie mistakes. Morgan Moses picked up three of the team’s 12 penalties, including a false start in crunch time that could have proved more costly, if not for the defense’s clutch execution. Center Garrett Bradbury botched a snap. Hunter Henry was penalized for an illegal shift.
The good football ultimately outweighed the bad, but man, it was close. The Patriots benefitted greatly from the Dolphins' operational mistakes. They couldn't get their plays in on time, they had false starts, and they burned timeouts in a close game.
Vrabel’s team willed themselves out of a five-point hole they dug with their own issues. The Patriots finally beat Tua.
“I appreciate the character,” Vrabel said postgame. “We certainly don’t have to put it to the test all the time.”
The team showed grit. They just showed a lot of room for improvement, as well.