SITE SEARCH
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - It began with a blocked punt, and it ended with something that hadn't happened in 11 years.
True to form, the Patriots completely wilted in the heat and humidity of Miami. The Dolphins dominated the game in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and powered their way to a 33-20 victory over the Patriots on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium. The Dolphins overcame turnovers on three consecutive drives in the first half to completely dominate the AFC East favorites, and the Patriots would up losing their first season opener since the Lawyer Milloy game against Buffalo in 2003.
At one point, the Patriots had a 20-10 lead, the Dolphins were giving the ball away on offense with regularity, and Tom Brady and the offense was in mid-season form. But the Dolphins turned things around in the second quarter following the third turnover, and the rest of the way it was complete and total Dolphin domination.
All sorts of things contributed to this Patriot loss, which is even more deplorable given the 3-0 turnover advantage for the Patriots in the first half. Knowshon Moreno, who gashed the Patriots for 224 rushing yards last year as a Bronco, was again problematic for the Patriot defense. Cameron Wake was again a dominant force on defense, like he was in the Miami win in south Florida last year. Key penalties, including an illegal pick on Brandon LaFell and two roughing the passer calls on Chandler Jones, hurt the Patriots in inopportune moments. The Patriots had their first punt blocked in two years. The offensive line, which could have badly used Logan Mankins and Dante Scarnecchia, was a shambles in the second half.
Right off the bat, things looked ominous for the Patriots. On their opening drive, the Dolphin defense forced a three-and-out. Chris McCain blew in from the right side and smothered Ryan Allen's ensuing punt. Ryan Tannehill took the Dolphins in on a four-play, 15-yard drive, finishing with a four-yard dump pass to Lamar Miller with Rob Ninkovich five yards away in futile pursuit.
But the Patriots roared back and took control of the game for a time. Brady led the Patriots on a 13-play, 74-yard drive, featuring a lot of runs to the left side, where Mankins would have been in the past. The biggest run was a 17-yarder on an end around by Julian Edelman, and Shane Vereen finished it with a two-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Miami's next possession lasted only three plays. Mike Wallace caught a four-yard dump pass in the right flat and was clobbered by Jamie Collins. Jerod Mayo picked up the fumble and the Patriots cashed it in with a Stephen Gostkowski 47-yard field goal.
The next exchange seemed to portend a dominating afternoon for the Patriots. Tannehill drove Miami from the 26 to the Patriot 37, then threw an ill-advised bomb over the middle. Alfonzo Dennard picked off the pass at the Patriot 6, then Brady took the Patriots on an 11-play, 94-yard drive. Brady found Edelman for 45 yards while being illegally contacted, then Rob Gronkowski finished it off by catching a 6-yard touchdown pass on a crossing route mismatch. It was 17-7 Patriots, and when Miller coughed the ball up on the following drive on a nice stick by Logan Ryan, the Patriots had the ball at their own 34 and a chance to put the Dolphins away in the first half.
 Tom Brady suffered another disappointing loss at Miami on Sunday. (USA TODAY Images) |
The key to the turnaround was the shift in domination from the Patriot front lines to the Dolphins'. Suddenly, Brady no longer had time to throw the ball and establish a sustained passing rhythm. Tannehill now had more time to throw and stopped making mistakes, helped greatly with the establishing of a running game from Moreno and Miller. Both running backs averaged five yards or better for the game, and the two of them gashed the Patriot defense so badly that Tannehill was able to get completely comfortable and settle in in the second half.
The Dolphins scored on six of their last eight possessions which did not result in a half ending. Opening the second half, the Dolphins struck quick on a screen toss to Charles Clay which went for 24 yards thanks to several missed tackles. Jones was called for the first of two roughing the passer penalties, then three runs of 26 yards total by Moreno led to a 24-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis to make it 20-13 Patriots.
Wake strip-sacked Brady to give the ball back to Miami four plays later, and Wallace beat Darrelle Revis in the end zone four plays after that with a leaping 15-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 20. Two hurries, one by Wake, ended the next Patriot drive quickly and Sturgis capped the next drive with a 22-yard field goal to give Miami the lead at 23-20.
The next Patriot drive seemed to be working well until a 20-yard Steven Ridley right end run was wiped out on a holding call on Michael Hoomanawanui at the point of attack. A McCain sack ended that drive, but the teams exchanged punts over the next three possessions. The first Patriot drive was done in by a sack of Brady by Olivier Vernon. The next drive was killed by an illegal pick penalty on LaFell which injured Dolphin safety Jimmy Wilson. The third drive was simply three misfires by Brady with an overmatched offensive line in no position to give him time to throw.
Moreno finished with 134 yards rushing and a 5.6 yards per carry average. Miller had 59 yards rushing and a lost fumble, but averaged 5.4 yards per carry. This turned out to be perhaps the key in the game, as it allowed Miami to take full control of the game. Moreno has always done well against the Patriots, but this was a case where giving up the run didn't work like it did last fall at home against Denver.
Wake had two of the four Miami sacks of Brady, and led a defense which was dominant despite losing top linebackers (Dannell Ellerbe, Koa Misi) to injury in the first half. The Patriots will obviously be scrutinized for trading Mankins last week, but it is hard to imagine that they would have done much better with an aging Mankins than without. This was the first Patriot game since 1980 without Scarnecchia on the sidelines, so a huge adjustment period is in order for the offensive line. Still, Wake is a matchup problem for the Patriots no matter what.
Brady finished 29 of 56 passing for 249 yards, a touchdown, and a 69.7 passer rating. Tannehill was 18 of 32 for 178 passing yards and a 79.9 rating despite the interception.
The nice omen is that despite the opening day loss in 2003 at Buffalo, the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year. If the Patriots have to get over the loss of Mankins this year like they did in 2003 with Milloy, then the Patriots should be much better next week at Minnesota.
Once again, the Patriots show that they usually don't play well in south Florida. A lot of season is left, but thank goodness this one is now in the rear view mirror.
SITE SEARCH