Fan Notes from the Patriots loss to the Dolphins

Notes, musings, and observations from the New England Patriots 34-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

In years past, a loss like yesterday’s against the Miami Dolphins would leave a taste in my mouth so sour that no amount of cranberry sauce or pecan pie could wash it out. When your team gets so thoroughly bullied like that, it’s easy to feel lousy and let it affect you way more than it should.

But you know what? It’s Thanksgiving week. The best week of the year. And this season is a wash anyway. So no time to dwell on the negative.

1. On the plus side, the loss doesn’t matter at all. Wins and losses are irrelevant this season, as we’ve all been saying all year. And the Patriots would have lost this game even if they had Tommy B and Gronk and Randy Moss and Ty Law and Rodney Harrison and Andre Tippett and John Hannah out there; at Miami is almost always an L and that’s just the way it is.
2. But the way they lost? That’s kind of a different story. The 34-15 score makes it seem like this game was way closer than it actually was, which is saying something.
3. Although I must admit: part of me has always wondered what a football game would look like if the defense decided before the game that it just wasn’t going to tackle, block, or cover at all. And now I’ve seen it. So I can cross that one off my bucket list.
4. The last few weeks have been wins and competitive losses, which is all we want to see. But this one represented a complete regression to not only early in the season, but to 2023 levels of suckitude. This was a team that was completely unprepared to play a football game.
5. How bad was it? The Patriots had 14 first downs and 269 yards of offense in this game. The Fins, on the other hand, had 17 and 289 in the first half alone. Tua was throwing to guys so wide open I was starting to wonder if they snuck onto the field after the ball was snapped and hid behind the refs until the last minute. The game got out of hand so fast I imagine there are a few fans who hadn’t even made it to their seats yet and it was already more or less over.
6. We’re into Thanksgiving now, so it is what it is at this point. Help is not coming. There is no cavalry coming over the hill, and the issues that have plagued this team all season will continue to plague. And that’s fine, to a degree; the offensive line is devoid of talent and will keep getting slapped around. The receivers are serviceable at best, outmatched at worst. Hunter Henry is a reliable tight end, but has a ceiling. These are all things we knew going in and can live with.
7. But that...