Hard Rock Stadium served as the backdrop for another horror show for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s AFC East divisional clash with the Miami Dolphins.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense lit up the Patriots defense for 24 points in the first half of the game. There were no answers for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in a game where the Dolphins took whatever they wanted against New England.
The defensive coaching came under intense scrutiny due to the Patriots’ inability to make in-game adjustments to what the Dolphins were doing.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots were gutted by penalties and the inability to pass protect on the edges. Quarterback Drake Maye was the star of this horror picture with the Patriots’ offensive line giving up four sacks and eight quarterback hits. He finished with 221 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Both starting tackles, Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs, were completely outmatched by Miami’s edge rushers in the game.
The Patriots showed some life late in the game with a long passing touchdown from Maye to tight end Austin Hooper, along with a fumble returned for a touchdown by cornerback Christian Gonzalez. But it wasn’t even close to being enough to overcome Miami on the road in a 34-15 loss.
If not for the penalties, the Patriots offense likely could have put up more points. It’s hard to score points when penalties continue to lengthen downs and kill drives.
The Patriots had 10 penalties in Sunday’s game.
We’ll see if they can pick up the pieces and bounce back effectively at home next week against the visiting Indianapolis Colts.
