MORSE: Good, Bad, and Ugly from the Patriots Domination of the Dolphins

From the outhouse to the penthouse, the Patriots convincingly dispatched the Miami Dolphins 38-10. The Patriots finished off the regular season with another dominating win against an undermanned Dolphins team to complete a 14-3 regular season.

With the Denver win, the Broncos secured the #1 seed and the bye. The Patriots did what they had to do to secure the #2 seed and a home playoff game next week versus the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Good

Rhamondre Stevenson had the game of his career with 7 carries for 131 yards rushing, 18.7 YPC, and 2 TDs. He also had 2 catches for 22 yards and another TD.
TreVeyon Henderson had 13 carries for 53 yards. 4.1 YPC, and 2 TDs.
The team ran for 243 yards against a team that was giving up only 125,5 Yards Per Game.
Drake Maye had a pedestrian game for him, with 14 of 18 (77.7%), 191 Yards, 129.4 QB rating, 1 TD, 0 Turnovers, and 0 Sacks.
His 129.4 QB Rating was his 13^th over 100 this season, tying Tom Brady for the most in a season. His 72% Completion % for the season is the sixth-highest in NFL history.
Hunter Henry reached his $250K Bonus Incentive with 5 catches for 56 yards.
Stefon Diggs also reached a 1,000-yard season with 3 catches on 3 targets for 43 yards. This kicked in another $500K incentive
K’Lavon Chaisson earned a $500K Incentive bonus with his sack for 7.5 on the season. His incentive number was 7.
The Patriots had 4 sacks on the day, with Barmore, Chaisson, Ponder, and Marcus Jones each getting one.
UDFA Elijah Ponder had his 4^th Sack of the season in this game. First Round (#3) selection Abdul Carter of the Giants had 4 Sacks on the season.
Jahlani Tavai and Christian Elliss led the team with 8 Tackles each.
The Patriots won the Turnover battle 2-0. Jaylinn Hawkins had an interception in the end zone. Christian Gonzalez was credited with a Forced Fumble, while Elijah Ponder had the Fumble recovery.
The Patriots held the Dolphins to 1 of 3 TDs in the Red Zone. One was Hawkins’ interception, and another was a turnover on downs after reaching the 1-foot line.
The Patriots’ Offense was very efficient in the Red Zone, going 4 for 5.
Eight different receivers caught passes.
Punter Bryce Barringer had back-to-back good games. He had 3 kicks for 155 yards, a 51.6 average.
This from Ian Logue of Patsfans.com: Patriots Finish 2025 Second In Scoring in the NFL
- From 30th to #2:
  - #30: 289 points in 2024
  - #2: 490 points in 2025
- 2025 Scoring By QTR:
  - Q1: 122
  - Q2: 174
  - Q3: 104
  - Q4: 90 Total: 490
- 2024 Scoring By QTR:
  - Q1: 58
  - Q2: 82
  - Q3: 40
  - Q4: 109 Total: 289

Pretty incredible.

Patriots open as 3.5 point favorites against the Chargers
Rhamondre Stevenson’s Mom was in the stands for his breakout performance.
The Defense shut out the Dolphis in the second half.
Efton Chism had a 35-yard reception on a Flea Flicker. He also had a great block on the first Rhamondre Stevenson TD run.
Loved the drive and 59-yard Field Goal by Andy Borrgales. I think that sapped the life out of the Dolphins.
The Patriots came out of this game relatively healthy. K’Lavon Chaisson was dinged up but came back out and was able to get his sack. Milton Williams also saw time after being activated ahead of Sunday’s contest.

The Bad

Mike Vrabel’s decision not to challenge the spot on a Hunter Henry catch. He compounded the problem by calling a timeout. If he had challenged the spot, the worst thing that could have happened would have been to lose a timeout. However, the challenge is a timeout, and he could have planned the next play during that time. That was a rare brain fart by Vrabel.
Craig Woodson played a very bad game. He missed tackles and missed an assignment that gave up the only Dolphins TD.
Carlton Davis wasn’t much better. Missed tackles and had another Pass Interference call when he was beaten on a deep ball.
Why can’t the Patriots cover a Tight End?
I didn’t like the quick 3 and out in the 2^nd quarter. They were carving up the Dolphins on the ground, and they got cute trying to pass. Three straight Incompletions by Drake Maye. For the rest of the game, Maye was 13 of 14. In the second half, Maye was 7 for 7 before he came out of the game with 12:53 left to go in the contest.
Diggs was only targeted once in the 1^stquarter.

The Ugly

The blocked Field Goal by 6’6” Zach Sieler, who beat Vederian Lowe and Brenden Jaimes.
The Phins didn’t score after the long Borregales Field Goal. It felt like they had their reservation made for Cancun, and they just wanted the game to end. Miami was missing 7 Starters in De’Von Archane, Jaylen Waddle, Chop Robinson, Austin Jackson, Darren Waller, Minka Fitzpatrick, and Tyreek Hill (since game 4). They also benched Tua Tagovailoa, who probably played his last game for the Dolphins.
The New York Jets secondary did not have an interception on the season, becoming the only team since 1933 to accomplish this feat. The passing leader in 1933 had 936 yards passing. Ironically, the Head Coach, Aaron Glenn, was one of the best DBs in Jets history.
The Carolina Panthers had a -69 point differential this season (23rd in NFL). They ended up winning the NFC South Division with an 8-9 record. The Patriots were 4-0 against the NFC South.
How was that Offensive Pass Interference against Hunter Henry? He was held off the line of scrimmage and spun around to be in position to receive the ball. That wiped out a big Pop Douglas catch.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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