The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins battled back and forth late into the fourth quarter on Sunday, with both offenses often looking unstoppable and both special teams units coming through with key fourth-quarter scores.
New England got the final defensive stop, preserving a 33-27 win for the Patriots, their first on the season and their first under head coach Mike Vrabel.
Drake Maye went 19-of-23 for 230 yards with two touchdowns, while Tua Tagovailoa went 26-of-33 for 315 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
It was a thrilling victory for New England and one that came down to the very end. Here's how the win unfolded!
1. Pats Start Fast
The Patriots came out with a balanced attack on their first drive after receiving the opening kickoff, but it wasn't easy, as a first-down sack helped force a third-and-long that the offense couldn't quite convert. Josh McDaniels stayed aggressive, picking up a conversion on 4th-and-3 with a well-designed play to Stefon Diggs. From there, Drake Maye hit Austin Hooper for 22 yards and then finished the drive off with an eight-yard touchdown throw to Mack Hollins. It was a 10-play 68-yard scoring drive and just the kind of start New England was hoping for while playing on the road against a tough divisional rival. Unfortunately, Andy Borregales missed the extra point, holding the lead to 6-0 early in the first quarter.
The defense carried over the momentum into Miami's first possession, nearly getting a third-down interception that was offset by penalties on both teams. But even on the replayed third down, New England once again got the stop, forcing a three-and-out to start the game.
2. Pats Keep Going
After forcing a Miami punt on their initial possession, New England strung together another balanced touchdown-scoring drive to continue their hot start. The Pats picked up three third-down conversions on the drive, including the touchdown, a pinpoint drop in the bucket to Kayshon Boutte from 16 yards out. It was one of the best throws and catches we've seen from the Maye-Boutte connection. TreVeyon Henderson got involved, picking up a third-down conversion on a wheel route that was a staple of training camp, while Maye picked up a conversion of his own with his feet. This one was an 11-play, 70-yard drive, but once again Borregales missed the extra point, keeping the score at 12-0.
It was an impressive first quarter for the Patriots. Maye and company were dealing. The second-year quarterback was 7-for-8 for 89 yards with two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 152.6 in the first quarter.
3. Miami Responds
Miami woke up on their second drive in the early second quarter, quickly travelling down the field in eight plays that went 83 yards. The Dolphins showed good run/pass balance on the drive, with Tagovailoa lobbing a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle for the 18-yard score to finish things off. Miami did not face a third down on the drive, as their rushing attack, led by De'Von Achane, found its stride and accounted for 56 of the drive's yardage. It was a needed response from the Dolphins as they closed the lead to 12-7 with a successful extra point.
4. New England Doesn't Blink
Despite Miami's awakening on their second drive, the Patriots offense picked up right where they left off their previous two scoring drives, again executing a long, sustained and balanced drive. However, this time the Pats were unable to finish things off with a third-straight touchdown, settling for a field goal from inside the Dolphins 4-yard line. Borregales broke his missed kick streak with a 22-yarder that made the score 15-7 just after the two-minute warning. It was a 15-play, 71-yard scoring drive as New England continued to move the ball with a well-rounded attack that got contributions from everyone. A Dolphins illegal contact penalty was a key part of the drive, keeping the Patriots drive alive with a new set of downs when they were about to face a 3rd-and-25.
Rhamondre Stevenson continued to add to his solid half, piling up 55 yards on eight carries, while Maye worked the ball around to seven different receivers while going 12-for-14 for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
5. Miami Strikes Back
Despite New England's offense carrying the play and scoring on all three of their possessions, Miami made the most of their final possession of the half, executing another near-flawless drive, their second in a row after punting on their first possession of the game. It took just six plays to go 77 yards as Miami's offense found its stride and started to shred the Patriots defense both through the air and on the ground.
Achane finished this drive off with a nifty 29-yard catch and run, on which multiple Patriots defenders couldn't get him to the ground. Tyreek Hill also started to come alive with a 22-yard catch of his own on the drive.
The Patriots took a 15-14 lead into halftime, with neither defense on the field looking capable of keeping points off the scoreboard.
6. Miami Takes the Lead
It appeared that Miami was going to regress back to their first possession performance out of the locker room in the third quarter, taking two holding penalties that put them into a 3rd-and-13 situation. But Tua continued his hot streak, launching a 47-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill that gave the drive new life. Penalties would again haunt Miami, with an illegal motion call backing them up once again into a long third down. This time, the Patriots defense got the stop, forcing a 40-yard field goal that still gave Miami their first lead of the game, and of the 2025 season, 17-15.
The Patriots offense responded to losing the lead with their first punt of the game, going three-and-out on their first possession of the second half in the face of a surging Dolphins offense. Bryce Baringer boomed a 71-yard punt to preserve some field position for the Patriots as Miami took back over for their second possession of the second half.
7. Miami Extends Lead
Tagovailoa stayed in rhythm on the next drive, delivering another explosive play, a 23-yard strike to Waddle that again moved the Dolphins into New England territory. He then converted a third down with a perfect pass to Tyreek Hill in the face of a New England blitz as the Patriots struggled to adjust and find a way to get a stop. Injuries began to mount for the Patriots on this drive, with rookie safety Craig Woodson, cornerback Carlton Davis and defensive tackle Christian Barmore all leaving the game late in the third quarter. All three would return to the game.
A Miami holding penalty was enough to help stunt the Dolphins progress, with K'Lavon Chaisson coming up with a needed third-down sack that forced a field goal attempt. The field goal was good, and Miami added to their lead, making it 20-15.
8. Patriots Revive
Things were looking bleak when the Patriots were facing a quick third down on their ensuing possession. Pressure came off the edge, but Maye stepped up, shrugged off the reach of the oncoming rusher and delivered a perfect downfield strike to Rhamondre Stevenson, who broke into the open field and delivered a 56-yard play, the longest of Maye's career. Just two plays later, Maye took the ball into the end zone himself, then handed off to Stevenson for a successful two-point conversion. Just like that, the Patriots were back in front by a score of 23-20 as the third quarter wound down.
It was a much-needed response from Maye and the offense after going three-and-out on their initial possession of the second half. This one was a five-play, 93-yard drive with the big play helping to swing some momentum back toward the Patriots.
9. Trading Punts
The Patriots forced their first punt since the Dolphins first possession of the game after retaking the lead. Excellent coverage on third down helped them get off the field with just over 10 minutes left to play, giving Maye and the offense a chance to extend the lead and potentially close out the game.
The drive looked doomed as they faced a 3rd-and-12, but Josh McDaniels put the perfect play call on with a screen pass to Stevenson that went 14 yards and set up a new set of downs. The good vibes would be short lived after an illegal shift penalty and a botched snap had the New England offense moving backwards. New England would punt the ball back to Miami for the second time in three second-half possessions, clinging to a three-point lead.
10. Special Back and Forth
New England's lead didn't last much longer, as Malik Washington would take Bryce Baringer's second punt from the end zone right back to the end zone with a 65-yard return for a touchdown. After watching the offenses go up and down the field for much of the day, it was now Miami's special teams that gave them back the lead in the game, 27-23. It was the first punt return touchdown in five years for the Dolphins.
But then Miami's lead would also quickly evaporate when Antonio Gibson took the next kickoff to house from 90 yards out. It took 12 seconds total for the punt return touchdown and then the kickoff return touchdown to happen as the special teams delivered for both teams. New England took a 30-27 lead with 7:06 left.
11. Pats Close It Out
The Dolphins began to drive the ball, down three points and looking to retake the lead but penalties stunted their drive, including a delay of game and a false start. Still, it came down to a fourth-down play and unheralded, newly minted linebacker Marte Mapu made the play of the quarter, picking off Tua and giving the Patriots back the ball just before the two-minute warning. Harold Landry III also came through with a key sack on third down and the defense stepped up on what would be the second-to-last drive.
The offense couldn't quite close things out, settling for a 53-yard field goal from Borregales, who overcame his early struggles to extend the lead to six points with 1:47 left.
Borregales would then miss the landing zone on the kickoff, giving Miami good field position for a final attempt at a game-winning touchdown.
And it looked like they had that game-winning touchdown when Achane ran down the sideline for what initially seemed like a touchdown before he was ruled out of bounds at the 26-yard line.
The crazy game all came down to the final minute with Miami threatening deep inside New England territory. Milton Williams closed it out with a fourth-down sack to give the Patriots the win.
12. Patriots are now 1-1
With the hard-fought win, Mike Vrabel gets his first victory as head coach of the New England Patriots and the team gets their first win of the 2025 season. It was the kind of victory that should do a lot for the Patriots. They finally knocked off Tua. They put up 30-plus points and Drake Maye showed he can win a divisional game on the road.
It's still only Week 2, but it's the kind of win that can be extremely meaningful for a team with a lot of new parts.
The Patriots will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium next Sunday at 1pm.
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
