Game Recap: Patriots Win in Miami for 1st Time Since 2019

The Patriots hung on to upset the Dolphins 33-27, securing the first win of the Mike Vrabel era and the team’s first win in Miami since 2019. Vrabel has preached taking advantage of bad football from day one, and that’s just what his team did in a gritty victory.

Both teams accepted double-digit penalties, allowed special teams scores, and struggled to keep momentum in a largely sloppy affair. That said, New England’s offense, pass rush, and late-down defense provided room for optimism.

“I’m just excited for these guys,” Mike Vrabel said postgame. “I’m really excited that they could fight and compete, come on the road, be in a game, get off to a good start, not be front runners — everything that we talked about. We tried to get the drive stops sometimes. We ended the drives with scores, with touchdowns, much better in the red zone. Offensively the only thing that stopped us today was us, so there was a lot of really good keys there. Again… there’s lots to coach from, but it’s going to be easier to coach from a win. We’ll be able to coach them hard and make sure we’re trying to fix the things that hurt us. We got off to a good start.”

Coordinator Josh McDaniels‘ offense came out hot in the 1st half with three consecutive scoring drives of at least 10 plays. Their defense was less consistent without coordinator Terrell Williams and star corner Christian Gonzalez. Led by inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, they followed an opening three-and-out with back-to-back touchdown drives.

The defense was more productive in the 2nd half. While Miami largely hurt itself and bled significant time off the clock, its offense didn’t score a 2nd-half touchdown. The Patriots’ offense stumbled over its own self-inflicted wounds, but sandwiched a touchdown drive between punts and kicked a late field goal. New England also benefitted from Antonio Gibson and the kick return unit immediately erasing a Miami punt return score.

The Dolphins’ final drive was far too close for comfort, but the Patriots did something they haven’t since at least 2023: they finished in a close game.

The offense finished without a turnover-worthy play, converted over half of their 3rd downs, moved the chains on their only 4th down attempt, and went 3-4 in the red zone. They also ran for 122 yards, more than doubling their Week 1 total of 60. The defense held head coach Mike McDaniels‘ offense to 4-10 on 3rd down, 0-2 on 4th downs, and 1-2 in the red zone while allowing just 61 yards on the ground.

Here are three players who are trending up and three who are trending down after today’s road victory.

3 Up

Drake Maye

Drake Maye put together the most complete performance of his career, going 19-23 for 230 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a 137.3 passer rating. His decision-making seemed near flawless, and outside of a high throw that negated a potential Austin Hooper score, he was deadly downfield, particularly on 3rd downs.

Shortly after converting on a pick wheel to TreVeyon Henderson, Maye dropped one in the bucket on a Kayshon Boutte go ball for six points.

The play of the day came with New England down five in the 3rd quarter, with Maye stepping up to make an unblocked rusher miss and hitting Rhamondre Stevenson on a vertical.

Even more impressive than Maye’s big throws was his ability to dig the offense out of holes. He was willing to take what the defense gave him in long and extra long yardage situations, setting up manageable late downs and eventual conversions. Maye also hurt the defense the few times he tucked and ran, including a 13-yard run on a 3rd & 6 and a scramble score where he outran Matthew Judon.

Progress isn’t linear, especially for a second-year quarterback in a new system, and the Dolphins’ secondary is one of the weakest in the league. Vrabel also pointed out Maye has room for continued growth in his operation of the offense.

“I think there’s a lot of good things and a lot of things we’ll have to fix,” Vrabel said. “The command and the operation, and when he feels that lull, that’s when we’ve got to tighten the screws on these guys and get them set faster and get them out of huddle faster and really push them. He’s a jockey, and he’s got to know what the flow of the team looks like offensively.”

Operational efficiency should come with increased experience and confidence. If Maye strings together similarly consistent performances, he could establish himself as one of the league’s better passers.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Stevenson reminded folks who he is this afternoon, leading the Patriots in both receiving and rushing yards.

“He’s athletic with the ball in his hands,” Vrabel said. “He makes good catches. He drops, steps, and goes. He turns second-and-15 into third-and-3, and those are critical when you can do that and not end up in third-and-8. Excited for him. Just really excited that he could have a real impact on this football game for us throughout the entire day.”

The lead back averaged 4.9 yards on 11 carries, punching Miami’s front in the mouth down on inside runs. This included a two-point conversion and occasionally making up for teammates’ miscues.

As a receiver, Stevenson caught all five targets for 88 yards, including his wild 55-catch-and-run, and was a valuable security blanket in long yardage.

“Too many times we had penalties, and…Rhamondre answered and then Gibby answered,” Vrabel said. “Again, we had a similar situation in practice where we had a couple bad plays, and I’m like we’ve got to just keep — we’re going on. We’ve got to snap the next play. Then somebody hit a play, a back hit a play. I’m like, you see, it just takes one play. That’s exactly what Rhamondre did to get us out of that lull.”

Today served as a valuable reminder that, while the big-money back has a long way to go to earn his contract, he’s a valuable member of the Patriots’ offense.

Pass Rush

Tua Tagovailoa’s anticipation and quick release make him incredibly difficult to sack, and the Dolphins used extra blockers to buy time on longer dropbacks. This held off the Patriots’ fearsome front early, but the dam broke for Miami in the 2nd half.

K’Lavon Chaisson, Milton Williams, and Harold Landry got to the quarterback on 3rd downs, and Robert Spillane chased Tagovailoa out of bounds for a sack on the Dolphins’ second-to-last dropback.

Williams then delivered the dagger, beating slide protection with some held from Landry for a game-sealing 4th down sack.

Even when they didn’t reach the quarterback, Landry, Williams and Christian Barmore’s presences could be felt throughout the game. All three ended the game with quarterback hits, including two for Landry.

Things may not be perfect for the Patriots’ defense, but the money they put into the trenches is paying off.

3 Down

Team Discipline

For consecutive weeks, the Patriots’ lack of discipline put the team in bad situations throughout the game. Vrabel’s squad was called for 15 penalties, with 12 being accepted for 75 yards.

It was a tough day for rookies, as Henderson (two offensive holds, one special teams hold), Will Campbell (false start), Jared Wilson (hold), Craig Woodson (illegal block above the waist on kick return), and Andy Borregales (kickoff short of landing zone) all drew flags. This was disappointing, but the penalty count from veterans was more flat-out unacceptable.

Morgan Moses was flagged for three false starts, with most if not all coming from late defensive line shifts, and Chaisson was caught lining up offsides twice. Hawkins was also called for holding on the punt team, and even captains Landry (offsides) and Hunter Henry (illegal shift) were penalized.

The Patriots aren’t good enough to beat themselves. They were fortunate that Miami couldn’t get out of its own way either, but that’s a dangerous game to play against better competition.

Pass Coverage

The Patriots allowed just four explosive passes in Miami after giving up nine against the Raiders. That deserves credit, especially against an explosive wide receiver duo. That said, the quality of New England’s losses were concerning, and the Dolphins picked them apart underneath.

“We won’t be the only team that they get explosive plays against, and we’ll just have to continue to be better,” Vrabel said. “There were times where we did, where we took away those throwing lanes, and there were times that we certainly didn’t. I told you that we had to be willing to give up some of those plays outside the numbers. They hit a couple off us, they hit a couple of those sevens and those corners. So I told the team that that was what going in we were going to make them hit them. They probably hit too many, but again we’ll be OK.”

Alex Austin is a good cornerback, but Gonzalez’s absence was felt in this matchup. Jaylen Waddle beat Austin for a touchdown in the red zone, capitalizing on 1-on-1 coverage to the backside of zone.

Austin also failed to locate an underthrown deep ball to Tyreek Hill, though the trajectory may have played a factor.

Woodson, who was near the deep completion, was often the play-side safety on deep completions, including two outs between the rookie and an underneath corner,

Most alarming was Miami’s ability to gash New England’s linebackers underneath, particularly captain Robert Spillane. The linebacker missed multiple tackles in coverage, and he was pulled for Marte Mapu in dime after losing to De’Von Achane on a long catch-and-run score before halftime.

If Spillane and Elliss don’t improve as tacklers, Mapu’s stock could (and likely should) continue to rise. Jahlani Tavai could also be slated for a role if/when he returns from short-term injured reserve.

Andy Borregales

Andy Borregales had another up-and-down performance, but the bad far outweighed the good this week.

The Miami product missed his first two extra point tries despite being back in his college stadium. He bounced back by making a 22-yard field goal followed by an impressive 53-yarder.

“Yeah, you’ve got to have a lot of confidence in him and I do have a lot of confidence,” Vrabel said. “It didn’t waver. I was going to try to go for the fourth-and-5 to try to get it there. Then when we got backed up, I immediately just kicked the field goal. I’m happy for Andy. That’s why he’s here. I thought after the first two he really settled down, and that’s what we’ll have to have.”

Unfortunately, Borregales immediately followed up the latter with a kick short of the landing zone. If the rookie doesn’t even out his play, it could force New England to bring in competition down the road.