Patriots crushed by Dolphins, 34-15, to fall to 3-9 on the season
BOSTON -- The New England Patriots were completely dominated by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, losing 34-15 at Hard Rock Stadium to fall to 3-9 on the season. Jerod Mayo's team had no answers for Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami offense in Week 12, while Drake Maye and the New England offense never really got going thanks to a plethora of penalties by the Patriots' offensive line.
One week after Matthew Stafford ripped the Patriots' defense to shreds, Tagovailoa picked them apart for 317 yards and four touchdowns off 29 of 40 passing. Jaylen Waddle was a beast with eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown, while former Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith had nine receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
"Hard pill to swallow," Mayo said after the loss. "We showed some fight at the end which is encouraging. But in this game every single play counts."
Maye remained upbeat after the defeat, despite his hatred of losing football games.
"I hate losing more than I really like to win. Losing sucks," said Maye. "What I told some of the guys inside, just remember this feeling. Remember this feeling of really getting our butts whooped. I think it's only up from here. We got a bright future and bright players in there that are going to make some players for the Patriots."
The Patriots have now lost three of their last four games this season. New England has won just twice in their last 12 visits to Miami.
Patriots crumble in second quarter
The second quarter was one of the worst of the season for New England, as the Dolphins scored 24 points in the frame and racked up 209 yards. The Patriots had negative-11 yards in the quarter.
The Patriots had a chance to score first, but Joey Slye missed a 45-yard field goal attempt on a drive that saw the New England offensive line get hit with three penalties. Miami scored its first touchdown after that miss, when Tua found Smith for a seven-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
After a Patriots three-and-out, the Dolphins marched 66 yards downfield in just nine plays, including 17- and 14-yard receptions from Jaylen Waddle. De'Von Achane capped things off with a nine-yard, catch-and-run score to give Miami a 14-0 edge.
Miami scored again ahead of halftime when Achane scored his second touchdown of the day on a screen pass from Tagovailoa. Nobody on the New England defense covered the right side of the field on the play, and Achane went into the end zone untouched to give Miami a 21-0 lead.
The Patriots went backwards when they got the ball back with 1:50 left, as Vederian Lowe was hit with a false start and Maye was sacked on third-and-15. The Dolphins got the ball back and added a field goal to take a 24-0 lead into the break.
The Patriots weren't competitive at all in the first half, as Miami picked up 17 first downs over the first 30 minutes. The Patriots had just four first downs in the first half and 14 for the game.
The Dolphins outgained the Patriots 281-85 in the first half, and 374-267 for the game.
The Patriots forced a pair of Miami punts to start the second half, but the offense still couldn't get anything going. Maye felt the pressure on a third-and-3 from the 50, and was strip-sacked by defensive tackle Zach Sieler. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks recovered the loose football, and a few plays later Tua connected with Waddle for a 23-yard touchdown to make it a 31-0 game.
Patriots wake up a bit in fourth quarter
New England finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter when the Miami defense fell asleep on a fourth-and-15. Maye rolled out to buy a little more time, and delivered a beautiful deep ball to a wide open Austin Hooper for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
The Pats forced a three-and-out but turned it over on downs on their next possession. But then the defense found the end zone when Christian Gonzalez picked up a fumble by Jaylen Wright and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown. Maye hit Boutte, who then flipped to Stevenson on the two-point try to make it a 31-15 games with 10:10 left in the game.
Tagovailoa had taken a seat on the bench for that fumble, but was back at quarterback when Miami got the ball back. The New England defense woke up after that Gonzalez touchdown and got the ball back to its offense, as Brenden Schooler sacked Tagovailoa on third-and-7 to force a Miami punt with 6:31 left.
But after getting into Miami territory, Maye felt the pressure on a Jalen Ramsey blitz (he went in untouched) and tried to throw it away, but didn't put enough on it and was picked off by Tyrel Dodson at midfield. The Dolphins got a 51-yard field goal by Jason Sanders off that turnover.
Maye finished his day 22-of-37 for 221 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a lost fumble. DeMario Douglas led the Patriots with five receptions for 61 yards, while Hooper added 59 yards off four catches.
Penalties Crush Patriots in Miami
New England was flagged seven times for 45 yards in the first half, with six of those infractions of the pre-snap variety. It didn't get much better in the second half either, as New England finished with 10 penalties for 75 yards.
"The last thing I told the guys is it's all about us, and this was before the game. Make a commitment to one another. That's what the game came down to, us going out there and kicking ourselves in the butt," said Mayo. "I don't think any team wants to go backwards, but we did that today."
"The penalties set us back and put us behind the eight ball," said Maye. "You can't do that in this league."
What's next for the Patriots?
The Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium next Sunday. The Colts are 5-7 on the season after losing to the Detroit Lions, 24-6, in Indianapolis on Sunday.
After playing the Colts, the Patriots will finally get to enjoy their bye week in Week 14.
