Pats Pulpit
While the AFC East had been secured in December, the No. 2 seed had to wait until January.
That wait ended Sunday. The New England Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 38-10 to close out the regular season with a 14-3 record.
Here’s a glance back on the finale as head coach Mike Vrabel’s side sets playoff sights on the Los Angeles Chargers.
The first win of the campaign arrived against the Dolphins. The last win would, too. Drake Maye remained at the center of why.
The Patriots quarterback completed 14-of-18 passes for 191 yards with one touchdown on Sunday. He added 41 rushing yards through a handful of carries before becoming a spectator.
Taking the field in jumbo “12” personnel, the opening drive spanned three handoffs and 70 yards on the way to a 7-0 lead. A 92-yard surge followed next time out for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ contingent, ranging from a flea-flicker to a pre-snap motion out wide. But the scoreboard didn’t stay at 14-0. A three-and-out was met by a turnover on downs instead. By halftime in Foxborough, New England stood with a 17-10 lead and a single conversion on third down, courtesy of a scramble by the 23-year-old NFL MVP candidate.
Coming out of the break, Maye went a perfect 7-of-7 for 107 yards and his 31st touchdown through the air. Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs took things home with 11:01 left on the game clock as the division champions reached the 14 wins for the first time since 2016.
The game’s top target would be tight end and captain Hunter Henry, who caught five passes for 56 yards and a $250,000 incentive with his 60th grab of the season.
A wide receiver room that lost Mack Hollins to injured reserve with an abdomen injury last week had plenty to gain.
Stefon Diggs led the way for New England’s depth chart in wake of facing charges of strangulation and battery. The past All-Pro caught three passes for 43 yards against Miami. A 34-yarder in the final quarter got him over the 1,000-yard mark for the seventh time dating back to 2018. No receiver had gotten there for the organization since Patriots Hall of Fame inductee Julian Edelman’s 2019 campaign.
Efton Chism III, fresh off his initial trip to the end zone, made his initial start out wide alongside the veteran. The undrafted rookie out of Eastern Washington turned trickery into a 35-yard reception early on.
The Patriots went four games without Will Campbell due to an MCL sprain. But the rookie left tackle found himself activated from injured reserve on the eve of the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. He found himself back in the lineup from there.
Next to the No. 4 overall pick out of LSU, the starting offensive line included Ben Brown at left guard, Garrett Bradbury at center, Mike Onwenu at...
