5 takeaways from Patriots’ embarrassing 34-15 loss to Dolphins
Penalties and poor defensive execution led to an uncompetitive showing from Jerod Mayo’s Patriots in Miami.
Burn the tape.
After coming up short in a competitive matchup against the Rams last week, New England had an opportunity to try and find some traction down in Miami against a high-powered Dolphins offense.
Instead, the Patriots submitted their most uncompetitive showing of the 2024 season so far — struggling in just about every facet of the game en route to a 34-15 loss.
With this latest setback, the Patriots fall to 3-9 on the season.
Here are five takeaways from an ugly game at Hard Rock Stadium.
An embarrassing performance
Despite their subpar record, optimism had been brewing in New England over the last few weeks. Beyond posting a 2-2 record in its last four games, encouraging performances from Drake Maye (309 total yards vs. Rams) offered up hope that things were moving in the right direction for a rebuilding roster.
And then Sunday’s game happened.
Simply put, Jerod Mayo and the Patriots were not prepared and did little to make Sunday’s matchup in Miami Gardens a competitive affair.
Another parade of penalties stymied whatever positive momentum New England’s offense generated in the first half — with Maye (221 yards, one TD, two turnovers) and the Patriots offense struggling to find any sort of momentum.
New England’s inability at the line of scrimmage to stop Chop Robinson (and adjust to the pass-rusher’s continued dominant play) stands as an ugly indictment against the Patriots’ personnel on the field and their coaching staff — a reality further reinforced by this team’s inability to limit penalties.
To make matters worse, New England’s defense has continued to regress. After giving up over 400 yards of offense to the Rams last week, the Patriots’ defense had no answers for Tua Tagovailoa — who finished the game with 317 passing yards and four touchdowns.
There’s no other way to sum this one up.
Even with a fourth-quarter push, it was an ugly, embarrassing performance across the board for New England — and a major step back for a franchise that seemed to moving (ever so slightly) in the right direction over the last month.
Penalties plague New England
In what has been a familiar sight on Patriots’ broadcasts all season, yellow flags littered the field whenever New England was conducting offense on the gridiron.
The Patriots — who entered Sunday averaging 7.73 penalties per game — were flagged nine times in the first half alone, with seven of those accepted by Miami. New England finished with 10 accepted penalties and 13 total flags, amounting to 75 yards.
New England’s tackles in particular excelled when it came to putting their team behind the eight ball. In the first half, Vederian Lowe was knocked for four penalties (three false starts, one hold), while Demontrey Jacobs was whistled for a false start and a hold.
Penalties sapped what stood as a promising drive by Maye and Co. in the first quarter — with New England putting together a 12-play, 80-yard march into the red zone.
But Maye and the Patriots were swimming against the tide due to flags throughout that sequence.
False starts on Lowe and Jacobs led to a 2nd-and-16 that New England did convert on — but another hold against Jacobs pushed the Patriots to another 2nd-and-16. That forced New England into a longer-field goal attempt — one that Joey Slye eventually missed from 45 yards out.
That drive highlighted the momentum-sapping impact that comes from undisciplined play, but New England struggled all game when it came to avoiding flags — especially along the line of scrimmage.
It was losing football — through and through.
O-line woes, turnovers halt New England’s gains on offense
If there was one silver lining to glean from New England’s recent losses, it was that Maye looked like the real deal under center in competitive matchups.
That reassurance was hard to glean on Sunday, with New England’s offensive line hampering the team beyond just those penalty issues.
Robinson and Miami’s pass rush feasted against New England’s O-line — finishing the game with four sacks and eight QB hits. Poor blocking also hindered New England’s run game, with Rhamondre Stevenson (13 yards off eight carries) brought down for a six-yard loss in the second quarter.
Things bottomed out in the third quarter, with Lowe completely outmuscled by Zach Sieler before giving up a sack. Maye coughed up the ball on the play, with Jordyn Brooks recovering the ball for Miami at New England’s 25-yard line. Just two plays later, Tagovailoa hit Jaylen Waddle for a 23-yard touchdown — making it a 31-0 game.
With New England’s O-line giving Maye little time to operate in the pocket, the Patriots’ offensive capabilities were limited — with Alex Van Pelt dialing up double-pass screens and other plays designed to negate some lackluster pass protection in the second and third quarters.
Make no mistake, Maye (22-of-37, 221 yards, 1 TD, 2 turnovers) joined the long list of players who made miscues in Miami.
The rookie was knocked for his fifth fumble of the season on that third-period sack. Even with Lowe’s struggles, Maye needed to protect the ball against that pressure.
Any hope of a fourth-quarter comeback was also snuffed out when Maye was intercepted by Tyrel Dodson with a little over five minutes left on the clock.
But New England’s offense just couldn’t find any traction at all with their struggles up front.
The lone bright spot for New England came in the fourth quarter, with Maye hitting Austin Hooper for a 38-yard touchdown with an impressive throw on the run after escaping pressure.
New England ended Sunday’s game with just 268 total yards of offense and 14 first downs.
Defense continues to crumble
Last week was a rough look for New England’s secondary — with Rams receivers Puka Nacua (123 yards, touchdown) and Cooper Kupp (106 yards, two touchdowns) shredding New England at Gillette Stadium.
After New England made the bewildering decision to keep Christian Gonzalez on the boundary instead of shadowing Nacua or Kupp, Gonzalez earned most of his reps on Sunday against Dolphins star wideout Tyreek Hill.
All things considered, Hill was kept in check with Gonzalez on him (five catches, 48 yards). Gonzalez also made one of the few plays on defense for New England in the fourth quarter — scooping up a fumble and returning it 63 yards for a touchdown.
The only issue is that the rest of New England’s secondary failed to pull on the rope.
Tagovailoa completely picked apart New England’s defense all afternoon, with Miami averaging 7.3 yards per pass en route to 373 total yards on offense.
Adding another effective corner to pair with Gonzalez might be the latest task added to New England’s already lengthy to-do list — with Waddle (eight catches, 144 yards, 1 TD) tormenting New England across the middle of the field all afternoon.
Be it Kyle Dugger, Jonathan Jones, or Marcus Jones, New England’s defensive backfield had way too many coverage busts and lapses that led to plenty of chunk yardage over the middle of the field.
Add in De’Von Achane waltzing into the end zone on both of his scores, and New England was non-competitive for most of the game against Tagovailoa — who is now 7-0 in his career against the Patriots.
Jonnu Smith: Revenge Game
While Waddle was the main thorn in the side of New England’s defense all afternoon, one of the more notable free-agent busts in Patriots history also twisted the knife against his former team on Sunday.
Smith — who never reeled in more than five catches in a single game with New England across two seasons — went for six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone on Sunday. The 29-year-old tight end ended the game with nine catches for 87 yards.
Smith is in the midst of a career resurgence with Miami. In his best season in New England, Smith recorded 28 catches for 294 yards and one touchdown during the 2021 season.
In just 11 games with Miami this year, Smith is up to 47 catches for 535 yards and four touchdowns.
LIVE UPDATES
4:02: Sanders hits the field goal to make it 34-15. That should do it.
3:56: Annnnd Maye is picked off. So much for any semblance of a comeback here.
3:52: Brenden Schooler sacks Tua. That Longhorn package continues to make plays.
3:45: Christian Gonzalez makes a play — he scoops up a fumble for 63-yard touchdown. It’s a 31-15 game after Stevenson gets a two-point conversion.
3:39: Sidy Sow replacing Jacobs at right tackle on this drive.
3:29: A great play by Drake Maye to avoid the pressure and hit Hooper for a 38-yard touchdown.
It’s 31-7.
3:23: End Third: Patriots trail, 31-0. Ho hum.
3:16: Just two players later – Jaylen Waddle reels off a touchdown.
It’s 31-0 Dolphins with 1:37 left in the third.
3:15: Maye gets strip-sacked — Zach Sieler out-musced Lowe and gets to Maye. Dolphins recover.
Burn-the-tape game from Lowe. Just a disaster.
3:13: Pop Douglas picks up 27 yards off an impressive one-hand catch and spin.
3:01: A double-pass screen goes for naught. Pats punting again.
2:58: Patriots whistled for pass interference.
2:55: In a shocking development, New England’s O-line is hit for another penalty. Onwenu called for a hold.
2:50: Christian Barmore picks up his first sack of the season. Nice coverage from Gonzalez on Hill. Miami punting.
2:34: Also Miami has the ball back to start the second.
2:31: Miami closes out the first half with a field goal. Dugger nearly had an end-zone pick.
It’s 24-0 Miami. Just a completely clowning from the Dolphins .
2:25: Chop Robinson smokes Jacobs again en route to another sack against Maye.
Dolphins get the ball back with 1:28 to go.
2:23: Vederian Lowe has committed his fourth penalty of the first half.
2:21: It almost got worse. Maye is strip sacked — but it’s ruled an incomplete pass upon further review.
2:18: Achane runs in unopposed. Unacceptable defensive performance from New England. It’s 21-0 with under 2 minutes to go.
2:03: Looks like Dugger recovers a fumble, it’s ruled an incomplete pass. Sione Takitaki is hurt on the play.
1:58: Patriots punting once again. Missed Douglas on a 3rd and 9. This game is getting close to slipping away for New England.
1:49: Achane strolls in for a 9-yard touchdown. Way, way too easy for Miami for the second drive in a row.
Its 14-0 Miami.
1:47: Dolphins marching down the field for the second straight drive.
1:40: Patriots O-line is getting cooked so far in this one. Patriots punting off a disastrous drive.
1:35: Old friend Jonnu Smith scores a 7-yard touchdown. Where can the Pats get players like that? 7-0 Miami.
1:34: Nice breakup from Gonzalez in the end zone.
1:31: End First: 0-0 game, but Miami is moving down the field.
Meanwhile, New England was called for six penalties in the first quarter. Losing football.
1:23: Brutal. Penalties once again stall out New England’s drive — and Joey Slye can’t convert on a 43-yard field goal.
1:21: Make it 4 penalties on New England’s tackles in these first two drives.
1:18: Nice start for Maye. 4-for-4 on throws while gaining some chunk yardage on the ground. 9-yard pickup with a scramble.
1:15: Make it 3 false starts in New England’s first two drives.
1:14: Another false start from a Patriots tackle.
1:14: Oooof, that’s an angry run from Stevenson. He trucked over Poyer in a 9-yard run.
1:10: Nice play by Mapu to break up that pass from Tua. Teams trading punts.
1:08: A false start on Lowe stalls New England’s drive. Patriots punting.
1:00: Patriots loss the coin toss. Miami defers — Patriots have the ball first.
12:15: Warmups are underway.
11:35: A look at the Patriots’ inactives. Deatrich Wise Jr. is set to miss his second straight game, while Christian Gonzalez (viewed as a game-time decision) is good to go.
11:15: Full-circle moment for Kendrick Bourne, who put together his best performance of the year last week vs. the Rams.
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