Pats Pulpit
Initial observations from Week 12 at Hard Rock Stadium.
The personnel had changed since October. The result remained the same in November.
The New England Patriots fell to the Miami Dolphins by a score of 34-15 Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, where 24 points separated the AFC East sides by halftime.
Here’s a glance back on the 1 p.m. ET kickoff as head coach Jerod Mayo’s roster returns home with a 3-9 record.
The last time the Patriots crossed paths with the Dolphins, Jacoby Brissett was under center at Gillette Stadium. The 15-10 loss marked the team captain’s final start before giving way to the No. 3 overall pick out of North Carolina. Drake Maye had been full speed ahead since then. He spent most of Sunday at a roadblock, completing 22-of-37 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown and two turnovers.
Breaking the huddle in “11” personnel, the opening drive ended with a third-and-3 false start on the blindside. The rookie quarterback endured additional penalty flags up front as the offense settled for a missed 45-yard field goal from kicker Joey Slye next time out. And the third chance with the football only went backward before the punt team was turned to in the shadow of the uprights. Another Bryce Baringer punt followed off a miscommunication. The offense had 83 total yards to show for the first half in Miami Gardens.
Out of intermission, Maye escaped former Walter Payton Man of the Year Calais Campbell on a third-and-9 conversion up the sideline. But he was soon halted by a strip-sack that linebacker Jordyn Brooks recovered en route to a 31-0 deficit. Then on fourth-and-15 in the fourth quarter, a shotgun snap saw the 22-year-old quarterback flee the pocket and take a deep shot that became his 10th touchdown toss. Veteran tight end Austin Hooper was waiting 38 yards downfield for it as the visitors got on the board through the gap. Off a cornerback blitz with 5:13 left to play, however, linebacker Tyrel Dodson corralled a backfoot, check-down interception.
The starting five that was deployed against the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams got the call again.
For the third time since the calendar turned to November, a recent touchdown scorer in Vederian Lowe stood at left tackle with Michael Jordan at left guard, Ben Brown at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle. The continuity was met by four sacks despite often keeping tight ends and running backs in to help. Those takedowns arrived courtesy of Chop Robinson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Zach Sieler and Jalen Ramsey. The laundry had flown with four false starts and two holds against the starting bookends by intermission. It didn’t end there for the unit, either.
The Patriots opened interior lineman Cole Strange’s 21-day practice window leading up to the divisional meeting. The top pick in the...
