There’s little division on this view: Patriots are head and shoulders above everybody else
Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones sacks Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
COMMENTARY
Is it January yet?
It’s on nights like these, when the New England Patriots prove to be so far superior to the competition, that it can be difficult to not want hit the fast-forward button, already certain about what this team is, in great anticipation of what it can ultimately become.
Oh, it all fell apart for Dan Campbell’s Miami Dolphins Thursday night, suffering a 36-7 drubbing at the hands of the Patriots, who utilized their strong defensive presence on the line (five sacks) to render Miami’s offense about as useless as a life preserver in the desert.
The Dolphins managed 280 total yards, 255 in the air, but 80 of those came on the team’s opening drive in the second half, the only three minutes when the offense showed some semblance of life.
As for the Patriots, they continued their march toward perfection, improving to 7-0 on the season, 3-0 in an AFC East at one point advertised as vastly improved. In reality, it’s the same as it’s always been. There are the Patriots, and then, there is everybody else.
Ho. Hum.
It was a 19-0 lead at halftime, and don’t think that matter went unnoticed, seeing as that’s the unmentionable goal for the Patriots’ season. They are chasing the NFL’s first perfect season since those obnoxious Dolphins managed it 43 years ago. New England may know all too well how difficult that goal is to attain, but it’s just so damned hard not to think about it, especially when laughable outfits like the Dolphins come to town. It seems all too possible when one sneaks a peek at the Patriots’ schedule, only to spot a bunch of has-beens and also-rans remaining, with only the Denver Broncos looming as a possible, late-November speed bump.
The 3-4 Washington Redskins. The 4-3 New York Giants. Blustery Rex Ryan and his imploding Buffalo Bills.
Blech.
To be fair to the rest of the mediocre landscape, it’s impossible to expect anybody else to be on the same level as the New England Patriots. We’ll have to wait until January to find out if the 6-0 Cincinnati Bengals might be able to be considered their equal, let alone their better. We need to be patient to see whether or not Peyton Manning’s right arm falls off sometime before the second week of Advent. Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady? See you in the Bay Area in three more months.
If only there were the option to bubble wrap Brady (a four-touchdown Thursday night), Dion Lewis (back in the lineup and proving that he’s become an integral part of it), Rob Gronkowski (a buck receiving and a touchdown), and Julian Edelman (what doesn’t he do?) until then, not to mention freezing every available offensive lineman in carbonite for their own safety.
But these next nine weeks? There’s a tedious dynamic at play here. The Pressure of Perfection is only going to snowball from here on out. Frankly, is there much doubt that they get there?
Consider that these Dolphins, these offensively-inept Miami Dolphins, were coming off back-to-back weeks when they scored 38 and 44 points, against the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans as Campbell righted the ship after a 1-3 start that cost Joe Philbin his job.
The Patriots face the Titans and Texans in consecutive weekends in December. It says something that the Titans’ and Texans’ best shots at winning just might be hoping for a forfeit.
It will be an upset if the Patriots don’t have the division wrapped up already by Week 14, when they travel to Houston. In fact, this regular season hasn’t even become only about winning the division and sticking it to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. It has become about the complete annihilation of everybody in their path. It helps that everybody else kinda sucks.
That’s certainly true of the Miami Dolphins. So much for that much-ballyhooed turnaround with which Campbell was credited. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s (a pair of interceptions) most worthy contribution to the game was in the first half when he delivered a look of complete failure when the offensive snap sailed past him and into the end zone for a New England safety. He wasn’t helped by his receivers either, who managed to drop more passes than Brandon LaFell wearing boxing gloves.
Oh, it wasn’t all giggles for the Pats on Thursday night. The secondary remains a frightening proposal against a quarterback of some worth, but the defensive presence up front (Chandler Jones, two sacks on the night, is playing his way into a mega-deal) was strong for the second-straight showing at home. Tannehill looked lost for most of the evening, and not only on the blunder that led to a safety. Guard Tre’ Jackson went down with a knee injury, as the offensive line continues to splinter without entirely cracking.
Like it matters.
The Patriots don’t play for another 10 days, when they host the Redskins, a mini-bye week of sorts. They just demolished the Dolphins on three days of preparation. Sorry, Kirk Cousins.
We already know the Patriots are better than most everybody else. Waiting to see just how good they turn out to be though, that’s the hardest part.
Turn back your clocks on Saturday night. There’s no cheating them ahead, no matter how tempting that possibility might be.
Then again, you might not want to rush. You’d miss something special, unfolding before our eyes.
Contact Eric Wilbur at: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @GlobeEricWilbur
Photos from the Patriots’ win over the Dolphins
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