MIAMI â The Patriots woke up from a first-half nap to pull away in the second half for a 24-19 victory over the Dolphins at a rainy Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The consistent rain throughout the day was indicative of it pouring down with injuries for the Patriots offense. New England finished the day without star WR A.J. Brown (ankle/knee), WR Romeo Doubs (shoulder), WR Mack Hollins (calf), RB TreVeyon Henderson (illness), LG Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring), RG Mike Onwenu (ankle), and starting TE Hunter Henry was lost to a foot injury during the game â that kind of year.
Defensively, the Patriots weren't sharp in the first half, especially in zone coverage. With CB Carlton Davis III returning from a three-game absence, New England is now fully healthy on that side of the ball. Yet, Dolphins QB Malik Willis started fast by going 12-of-15 for 112 yards and a score in the opening two quarters (+0.16 EPA per drop-back). At the half, the Patriots trailed 13-3 against a one-win Dolphins team â not ideal.
However, QB Drake Maye woke up a shorthanded offense to lead the Patriots on three straight second-half touchdown drives to regain control of the game. The big swing came in the third quarter, when Maye connected with WR Kyle Williams on a 43-yard TD, followed by a costly taunting penalty by Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon that stalled Miami's next drive. The Pats then went on a 13-play, 78-yard TD to take the lead.
"Just to keep our composure and chip away at it little by little," head coach Mike Vrabel said of his halftime message. "It was a good opportunity for us not to be frontrunners."
Overall, injuries have decimated the Patriots offense. Henry is the latest frontliner to go down with an injury, joining a list of players who could easily be starting for this offense. My concern level for the Pats defense's ability to play zone coverage is also growing, a necessary change-up to their staple man schemes. As tempting as it is to plan man coverage the whole game, it's not realistic. At the end of the day, a win is a win in sloppy conditions, but we'll have to wait and see who is available for this offense next week.
Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 5-3 with a Week 8 win over the Dolphins.
1. Play of the Game: Maye-to-Williams for a 43-yard TD in the Third Quarter
After a slow start, Patriots QB Drake Maye woke the offense up in the third quarter, providing a much-needed spark by completing a 48-yard touchdown pass to WR Kyle Williams.
"It was huge. We needed to open it up a little bit and break the barrier of getting in the end zone," Maye said.
The Patriots quarterback got rolling by ripping the post to WR Kyle Williams in the 989 concept (go-post-go). The Pats send WR DeMario Douglas on a short motion to make him the new No. 1 receiver (furthest outside the formation). With the Dolphins in Cover-3, Douglas's shift sets up a matchup for Williams on S Michael Taaffe on the deep post. Maye then smoothly transitions up in the pocket to avoid pressure from Dolphins DT Jordan Phillips and rips the deep pass to Williams, who holds on as he crosses the plane for six.
"When we called it, I knew it was going to be a touchdown. It's just something we've been trying to get off the call sheet for weeks and weeks, so they gave us the perfect look. We made the call, Drake threw a great ball, the line held up, so shoutout to all 11," Williams said.
2. QB Drake Maye Delivers in Second Half Without Three Receivers, Top Tight End
Despite being down multiple core contributors, Maye became the first Patriots quarterback to throw for threeâplus touchdown passes in five straight games since Tom Brady in 2007.
In the first half, Maye played conservatively because of the bad weather. After the game, the Pats QB said it took time to get a feel for the rain, and the offense opened up the passing attack in the second half. In the second half, Maye was nearly perfect with a more aggressive mindset, completing 9-of-10 passes for 146 yards, four total touchdowns, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Maye's average air yards per pass attempt rose from 4.6 in the first two quarters to 9.7 in the final two frames, reflecting his shift in approach once he settled into the rain. Overall, Maye added an outstanding +0.42 EPA per drop-back against a struggling Dolphins pass defense.
"I definitely think it plays a role in seeing how our offense is doing, how we're doing and then calling it from there," Maye said of the weather conditions. "Coach McDaniels is one of the best at adjusting to it. Kind of like the Denver game back in the playoffs. You just have to see how the weather is and how we are doing."
The Patriots quarterback was also involved as a runner, with the Pats calling Maye's number on a speed-option play down on the goal line, a great time to unlock Maye's mobility. With rookie OT Caleb Lomu as the jumbo tight end, the Pats run the speed-option play to the weak side of the formation away from Lomu. Maye has to make the unblocked defender, LB Willie Gay Jr., wrong. So, Maye shows Gay the ball like he's going to pitch it to Stevenson and then keeps it for a walk-in TD.
"That play comes in and you get a little amped for it. It's me and (Rhamondre) 2-on-1, kind of like basketball." Maye said.
As Vrabel said post-game, if he wants to be an elite quarterback, Maye needs to elevate the offense through these injuries. Sunday's second half was a great example of the Pats QB doing just that.
3. Patriots Roll with Efton Chism III, Kyle Williams, and DeMario Douglas WR Trio
With the Patriots shorthanded at receiver, New England had to rely on their second-year wideouts and Douglas to get the job done in Miami, and the trio mostly answered the call.
Although the group started slow, Douglas (three catches, 76 yards, TD), Williams (43-yard TD), and Chism (5 catches, 37 yards) did enough. Chism, who has played in run situations since Hollins's injury, led the Patriots wideouts with 52 snaps, followed by Williams (49) and Douglas (38). Along with Williams's highlight-reel touchdown catch, Douglas also delivered some great plays, including two explosives and a 48-yard TD to lead the team in receiving. Douglas's explosives came on a 26-yard crosser and a boot-action play.
On his 48-yard touchdown, New England ran a fake toss-boot to get Maye on the move, with TE Eli Raridon blocking down on Dolphins EDGE Chop Robinson. Robinson avoids Raridon's block, but Maye shrugs him off as he boots out, while Douglas runs the "squirrel" route along the sideline. The route takes Douglas downfield on a vertical out-and-up, but rather than continuing upfield, he stops down on a deep curl. Douglas runs off Dolphins CB JuJu Brents and then gets loose in the open field for six.
The biggest blemish for the wide receivers was Chism's first-half fumble that handed Miami three points, but given the early adversity and the injuries, the trio bounced back nicely.
4. Patriots Defense Opens in Zone-Heavy Plan to Keep Eyes on Dolphins QB Malik Willis
When you play a mobile quarterback like Willis, it stands to reason that the defense would play more zone coverage to have all 11 defenders' eyes on the quarterback in the pocket.
However, the Patriots zone coverage struggles continued on Sunday. In the first half, the Pats played 70% zone coverage, with Willis going 8-of-10 for 93 yards vs. zone. Although the players said it wasn't a halftime emphasis to play more man coverage, DC Zak Kuhr called more man schemes in the third quarter (50%). In all, Willis was just 6-of-9 for 36 yards and a touchdown when the Patriots played man coverage (4.0 YPA).
The Patriots first-half zone struggles stemmed from Miami attacking their off-coverage corners on deep outs. The Pats were playing Cover-2 at a top-five rate entering the week, and opposing coordinators seem to have a bead on Kuhr's tricky Cover-2s. Above, CB Christian Gonzalez bails into the deep half of an inverted Tampa-2 zone, and WR Malik Washington breaks off a deep out in front of him for a 23-yard gain.
New England entered the week ranked 30th in pass EPA in zone coverage, and after Willis was efficient vs. zone again this week, that ranking likely won't improve after Sunday. New England needs to be more consistent in zone structures to complement its great man-coverage schemes.
5. Patriots Offensive Line Makes a Halftime Adjustment, Settles in for Second Half
Like many of their splits by half in this game, the Patriots pass protection struggled in the opening two quarters but improved in the second half. The Pats opened the game with the same starting five they played with in Chicago: LT Campbell, LG Rouse, C Wilson, RG Pryor, RT Moses. According to NextGen Stats, Maye was under pressure on 57.1% of his first-half drop-backs (two sacks). Both of Miami's sacks came on stunt schemes, where the Pats O-Line struggled to pass off loopers to allow routes to develop downfield.
At halftime, the Patriots inserted top backup Ben Brown at left guard for Walter Rouse, and although it's a group effort, the pass protection settled down. Maye was under pressure on only 38.5% of his drop-backs in the final two quarters, and the downfield passing game produced better results. As always, we'll take a closer look at the line play in After Further Review, but the second-half pressure rate suggests Brown and the O-Line came together as the game wore on.
6. Patriots Run Defense Shuts Down Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon (19 carries, 69 yards)
Heading into the matchup, we discussed the Dolphins third-ranked rushing attack in explosive run rate and how Miami's lead back, Ollie Gordon, was a problem. On Sunday, the Pats held the Dolphins rushing attack to just a 33% success rate while stuffing Gordon five times (16-yard rushing long). The leaders in the stuffed-run category were LB Christian Elliss and DT Cory Durden, who each had two run stuffs. Durden, in particular, stood out at first glance for his power into the line of scrimmage.
Along with strong run defense, the Patriots also sacked Willis five times in the first half. Durden got credit for 1.5 sacks, and rookie Gabe Jacas also got a full sack when he came free as the looper on a stunt scheme. Overall, Willis was under pressure on 45% of his drop-backs, while the run defense held strong, making this a "win" for the Pats defense in the trenches against the Dolphins offensive line.
7. Patriots Ride RBs Rhamondre Stevenson, Corey Kiner in Offensive Backfield
As expected, Stevenson played a bulk of the snaps with the Patriots down second-year RB TreVeyon Henderson (illness). The Pats lead back played 45 snaps (76.3%), while Kiner mixed in on 11 plays and had two "10+" runs. The scheme that got Kiner rolling was "split-flow" zone, where the line blocks outside zone in one direction while the tight end "sifts" across in the other direction. Kiner hit runs of 20 and 10 yards on split-zone, with a smooth cutback on his 20-yarder. Stevenson also had nine successful runs by grinding out some dirty yards. Overall, the Patriots had a 45% rushing success rate in a solid ground game.
8. Patriots Special Teams Have a Boom-or-Bust Day vs. the Dolphins
Lastly, the special teams units were a mixed bag in Sunday's game. K Andy Borregales missed a 40-yard field goal wide right in the first half (10-for-12 this season). To be fair, Dolphins K Zane Gonzalez had a 43-yard miss kicking in that direction as well. The Pats also allowed two big kickoff returns to Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright, who had a 43-yard return and a 36-yard return. On a positive note, punt returner Marcus Jones had a 26-yard return in the first quarter that set the Patriots up with good field position. Although all four kickoffs were touchbacks, RBs Lan Larison and Corey Kiner handled kickoff return duties on Sunday.
After recovering from a shaky first half to start 3-0 in the division with a win over the Dolphins, the Patriots will now turn the page to Gronk Hall of Fame weekend vs. the Packers in Week 9.
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DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
