Patriots Can't Overcome Slow Start, Lose To Dolphins In Regular Season Finale
BOSTON (CBS) -- Miami remains a house of horrors for the New England Patriots.
The Patriots went to Miami on Sunday with a chance to win the AFC East -- a chance which was extinguished rather quickly. New England fell behind 14-0 after two drives, ultimately losing 33-24 to Miami.
The loss -- New England's second of the year to Miami -- left the Patriots with a 10-7 record.
Mac Jones completed 20 of his 30 passes for 261 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Tua Tagovailoa was 15-for-22 for 109 yards with one touchdown and no picks for Miami. Duke Johnson rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
The Dolphins got out to a perfect start, driving 77 yards on 13 plays to open up a 7-0 lead before intercepting Mac Jones and returning it 37 yards for a touchdown to double that lead.
The pick -- which was Jones' 13th of the season -- was made by Xavien Howard.
The Patriots forced a punt from Miami, but the Dolphins opted to run a fake, with punter Michael Palardy trying to run for 4 yards. He slid two yards shy of the sticks, but the drive was kept alive by a bad penalty call on Brandon Bolden.
The Dolphins ended up driving for a field goal to stretch the lead to 17-0 after the 15-yard penalty.
The Patriots finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when Bolden broke off a 15-yard run for his first touchdown run of the season.
The 17-7 lead for Miami held through halftime, and the Patriots drove 50 yards before settling for a 43-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half to further cut into Miami's lead.
But the Dolphins stretched that lead back to 14 points, thanks in large part to a pass interference penalty called in the end zone against Jalen Mills on a third-down incompletion. Duke Johnson ran it in for a one-yard touchdown on the next play, giving Miami a 24-10 lead.
The Patriots were in position to score again, driving to the Miami 22-yard line. But on a first-and-10, Jones fumbled the snap, and Jaelan Phillips recovered the loose ball for Miami.
New England forced another punt at the end of the third quarter, but Lawrence Guy was penalized for lining up over the long snapper. With that punt coming on fourth-and-1, the penalty kept possession with Miami. The Dolphins tacked on a 49-yard field goal from Jason Sanders to go up 27-10.
The Patriots did mount a touchdown drive, with Bolden scoring his second touchdown of the game on an 18-yard catch-and-run. That drive was largely powered by Hunter Henry, who made a tremendous diving play for a 32-yard catch, one of his three receptions on the drive.
Bolden's touchdown cut Miami's lead to 27-17 with 6:32 left to play.
The Patriots' defense came up with a stop, and New England made things very interesting with a 65-yard touchdown drive to cut Miami's lead to three points. Jakobi Meyers had a 39-yard reception up the left sideline ...
... and after a pass interference penalty in the end zone on Miami, Damien Harris scored from the 1-yard for his 15th touchdown of the season.
The Patriots then kicked off to Miami, needing a stop to try to mount the game-tying or game-winning drive. But Tagovailoa rushed for a gain of 11 yards on a third-and-8, allowing Miami to drain the clock to 14 seconds before punting the ball back to New England. The ball was downed at the New England 2-yard line with just 3 seconds left in the game. The Patriots' desperation play led to a lateral from Meyers that went directly to Dolphins linebacker Sam Eguavoen, who snatched the ball out of the air and fell into the end zone for a touchdown to end the game.
