Ups & Downs: Patriots' Defense Dominates Miami
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots took Dan Campbell and his Dolphins down a few notches Thursday night, handing Miami a piece of humble pie with a 37-6 loss at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots improved to 7-0 on the season with the win, the first time they've accomplished that feat since 2007. They also remain perfect against the AFC East, improving to 3-0 with a win against all of their division rivals.
The victory was never really in doubt, though the game was close for much of the first half. But the New England defense swarmed all night long, and pretty much shut down a Miami offense that was showing signs of life over the last two weeks.
It's a solid win for New England on a short week, and now they get a few extra days of rest before the Washington Redskins come to town next Sunday.
It was hard to find four Downs in this one, so we're going to add a few more things to the Ups column. That seems to be a common practice so far this season.
Ups
New England's Front 7
New England's front seven on defense deserve any extra rest they get this week after holding the Dolphins to just 15 rushing yards. Lamar Miller, coming off a 175 rushing yard game (in just a half of football) against the Texans, was held to those 15 yards on nine carries and was a non-factor.
The Pats front seven was swarming all night, and the defense got to Tannehill five times. They forced him into some bad throws, and the Patriots secondary took advantage, picking Tannehill off twice. The Pats' offense scored 14 points off those two turnovers.
Brady praised the defense for keeping Miami off the scoreboard while the offense got their act together in the first half. New England's front seven doesn't just look pretty good right now, they look pretty terrifying, and they didn't even have Jabaal Sheard on Thursday night.
Chandler Jones Is A Beast
Jones had two of New England's five sacks on the night, giving him an NFL-leading 8.5 sacks on the season. On his second sack, Jones beat a double team to get to Tannehill on third down and force a Miami punt.
Dion Lewis Is Back Big
The little guy returned and was his elusive-self en route to another big night, hauling in six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown -- all in the first half. That's good for a 15.5 yards per reception average on the night.
It was pretty clear Lewis was going to be a big part of the offense when Tom Brady went his way on 3rd-and-16 on New England's first drive. Lewis picked up 17 yards, making one defender miss and taking a big shot at the end of the run as he got enough to move the chains and keep the drive alive. Three plays later the Patriots scored their first points of the game.
Lewis also ran for 19 yards on five carries. It's clear now just how much the Patriots offense missed Lewis against the Jets.
Gostkowski Sets New Team Record
The guy has been automatic all season. He was 2-for-2 for the evening and hit a 36-yarder in the third quarter to give New England a 22-7 lead. Why was that special? It gave Gostkowski a team record of 26 straight field goals without a miss, passing some guy named Adam Vinatieri.
Gostkowski's now 17-for-17 on the season.
Edelman Returns To Form
That case of the dropsies appears to be gone for Edelman, who had seven receptions for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns on nine targets. Both of his scores came in the fourth quarter, and he had to fight for the last few years to find the end zone.
Tom Brady
It feels like his inclusion in the Ups section is too obvious. But the man is great at what he does.
Brady had that look in his eyes again and threw for 356 yards and four more touchdowns, his 69th career game with 300+ passing yards and 24th four touchdown game. Both of those are good for third all-time.
If he doesn't already, Brady might have the MVP locked up in a few weeks.
Downs
Penalties
The Pats were flagged for eight penalties in this one, costing them 69 yards.
Cameron Fleming had a pair of those flags, getting whistled for as an ineligible receiver (what he was doing downfield, we may never know) that negated a 22-yard catch by Edelman, and a false start.
The officials can also be added to this section. They missed a blatant PI on Brandon LaFell, who got smacked in the face on a deep bid by Brady. Despite the ref being just a few feet away, he didn't toss his flag. Brady was sacked on the very next play and the Patriots were forced to punt.
More Concern Along Offensive Line
This has nothing to do with the two sacks they allowed, because overall the offensive line kept Tom Brady pretty clean.
The depth on the offensive line took another hit Thursday night, with rookie Tre Jackson going down in the fourth quarter with what looks like a leg injury. He was questionable after limping off the field and did not return. With Marcus Cannon and Shaq Mason already out, that left only five offensive lineman to finish the game.
Luckily the Patriots have a few extra days off before they host Washington, and Bryan Stork is likely nearing a return. All hail the Stork.
Miami's Drive Out Of Halftime
Miami had 76 yards in the first half, but ripped off a seven play, 80-yard touchdown to open the second half as the Patriots fell victim to the long ball.
