Patriots Stock Report: Jamie Collins’ Blocked Field Goal Sparks Winning Effort

FOXBOROUGH — We hear Patriots players talk about it all the time: an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. When the Miami Dolphins come to town, it always seems to fall under the first of those two categories. But what appeared to be destined for an ugly win turned into an ugly duckling in the second half en route to a Patriots blowout win.

The Patriots picked up a 41-13 victory, their 11th win of the season, which keeps them in the drivers seat for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. The win locked up the AFC East championship for the sixth straight time, and the 11th time in the past 12 years.

The Patriots got off to a slow start in the first half, and were nursing a one-point lead headed into the locker room thanks to a few good breaks (a blocked field goal, an ugly throw by Ryan Tannehill that was intercepted, and a dropped touchdown) and one bad break (a long touchdown catch by Mike Wallace).

Here’s a look at some players trending up and others on the opposite end of the spectrum following the win.

Stock Up:
Jamie Collins: The first half got off to an inauspicious start, but linebacker Jamie Collins helped swing the tide with a blocked field goal to end the Dolphins’ first drive of the game. Kyle Arrington was on the other end of the blocked field goal, scooping it off the field and returning it for a touchdown. Arrington would later leave the game with a hamstring injury, but his impact had already been made.
Duron Harmon: The Dolphins had a solid drive on offense in the first quarter, but safety Duron Harmon ended it with a 60-yard interception return that gave the Patriots the ball at the 8-yard line and set up their first offensive touchdown of the game. This was one of a few first-half plays that helped the Patriots stay on top by one point headed into the locker room.
Jonas Gray: When the Patriots came out of the locker room for the second half, running back Jonas Gray also came out of the doghouse. He ran the ball 11 times for 62 yards and caught a pass for seven yards, with all of his production coming in the second half of the game.
Rob Gronkowski: The Patriots made a number of adjustments in the second half, but one of the bigger ones was getting Rob Gronkowski more involved. The tight end had no catches in the first half, but absolutely scorched the Dolphins in the second half for three receptions, 96 yards and a touchdown. He now has more than 1,000 receiving yards for the second time in his career, and is only the second tight end in NFL history with multiple seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards and 10 or more touchdowns.
Stock Down:
Malcolm Butler: The rookie defensive back allowed a 50-yard pass over his head on the opening play of the game, and also allowed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace at the end of the first half. Butler was taken out of the game in the second half, replaced by second-year cornerback Logan Ryan.
First-half defense: The Dolphins had plenty of chances to take an early lead, but with a few miscues, they surrendered any hope they had of going into the locker room with the upper hand. The Patriots defense yielded 271 yards of offense, 16 first downs, and was on the field for 20:00 in the first half. Their resilience has proven to be an X-factor.

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