Team Grades: Patriots Pound Dolphins Into Submission, Tom Brady Surgical Yet Again
By Abraham Gutierrez
Led by another surgical performance from quarterback Tom Brady, the New England Patriots improved to 7-0 on the season, dominating the Miami Dolphins in every facet of the game on their way to a 36-7 victory. The loss snapped Miami's two-game win streak, and puts the Dolphins in a tie for third place in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills at 3-4.
"I don't want them to forget that feeling right there. Don't forget it," Coach Dan Campbell said after the game. "I hope it eats away at them just like it's eating away at me, and I hope it drives them to not want to have that taste in their mouths ever again."
Offense: F
Coming into Week 8, the Patriots defense was statistically below average in points, total yards and passing yards per game. After outscoring opponents by 46 points during a two-game span, Dan Campbell's Fins appeared poised for a slugfest, but simply could not get anything going offensively.
All indications were that Miami would be able to pound the rock against New England, which has to have been (defensive coordinator) Matt Patricia's biggest concern. However, the defending champs rose to the occasion, and so did their defense, limiting the visitors to 18 first downs, 270 total yards of offense and two turnovers.
More importantly, the Pats spoiled the Fins' plans to run the football by stuffing at the point of attack and allowing a stingy 15 rushing yards all game long. Naturally, the lack of running game also tipped the scales in the champ's favor, helping them win the time of possession battle, 32:37 to Miami's 27:23.
"You have to play good football in all three phases when you play the New England Patriots," a disappointed Coach Campbell said during his post-game press conference. "They've always been that way. You can't have mistakes and if you do, you can't have many of them. They have to be far less than most teams you play, and we didn't do that."
With the pressure square on his shoulders, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill also had a game to forget, completing 28-of-44 pass attempts for 300 yards, no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions for a dismal quarterback rating of 64.6.
Defense: D+
It's clear that Brady and the Pats did not underestimate the surging Fins heading into this one, and it showed. From the opening drive of the game, Bill Belichick's offense seemed determined to make a statement, and for a while, the Dolphins defense held its own. Nevertheless, eventually the levee would break, as the Pats never took their foot off the gas.
Miami allowed just seven points in the opening stanza and 12 more heading into the break. They also come out strong after intermission, shutting down the Pats by limiting them to a field goal. But much like he's done all season, Brady shined in the fourth quarter, posting a 14-spot and putting the game completely out of reach.
"It was tough to string together enough plays to score points, but every time we punted them the ball, the defense held and got us the ball back," said Brady, who connected on 68 percent of his passes (26-for-38) for 356 yards and 4 touchdowns for a 133.2 QBR. "The score before the half was huge, we came in feeling pretty good at halftime. They did the same thing in the fourth quarter – they played really well. They played great tonight."
On paper, Miami's defense surrendered 24 first downs and 437 yards of total offense, 95 coming on the ground and 342 through the air. The only positive for this defense is that they limited Brady and the Pats to 3-for-12 on third-down situations.
"I think we executed in a lot of aspects, we got some three-and-outs, but at the end of the day, we have to stay consistent," said Dolphins defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh. "That's going to be the biggest thing for us as a front and as a secondary working together as a unit, making sure we're consistent and continue to get off the field."
The biggest concern for this "D" going forward will be the health status of defensive end, Cameron Wake. The four-time Pro Bowler exited the game in the third quarter after suffering an Achilles tendon injury, and not only was he unable to return, but was also seen leaving Foxborough on crutches.
"We'll find out on Cam," Campbell said when asked about the extent of the injury. "If something happens there, that can hurt us. I don't know if, what or how long it will be."
"We'll get with the doctors and take it from there," Wake said after the game.
Coaching: F
Thursday night's contest was a perfect illustration of how rough life can be for an NFL head coach. In only his third game at the helm, Campbell got a bit of a wake up call, as he and his team got a taste of what it is to go up against arguable the greatest coach in league history.
Bill Belichick and his staff did a terrific job of shutting down Miami offensively and defensively. And while it may seem like a joke, there were times during that game where it felt like New England's defense knew what was coming on a number of plays. Having that said, nothing should be taken away from what the Pats accomplished, as they played winning football, not only on all facets of the game, but more importantly, they did it for 60 minutes.
Next up, the Dolphins will travel home to lick their wounds and get ready to hit the road for yet another divisional showdown, this time against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Abe Gutierrez's (Twitter: @GutierrezAbe) passion led him to ditch law school journey in order to launch his own publishing company. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com, AXS.com and the CBS-Sports family. Some of his work can be found on CBS-Miami (Dolphins), CBS-LosAngeles (Chargers), CBS-BayArea (Raiders), CBS-NewYork (NY Jets), CBS-TampaBay (Buccaneers), AXS.com, Examiner.com and other online publications.