FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne wanted the ball. He wanted it now. The play clock ticked down, so he signaled for a timeout as running back Ronnie Brown frantically signaled the Dolphins were out of them. The clock struck zero, flags flew for delay of game, and a pressure situation with the game in the balance was now 5 yards worse.

That third-and-10 non-play with 3:09 left and the Dolphins on their 32-yard line typified Henne's day: Maybe he could've gotten more help from teammates, but he clearly wasn't at his best. And he clearly didn't get the job done when it was there to get done.

``We made some plays out there,'' Henne said. ``We didn't make enough plays at the end. We knew their offense was going to score some points. Offensively, we just needed to score more points and execute at the end.''

Henne's final passing numbers -- 19 of 34 for 219 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions -- fell right into his norm for this season. That comes out to a 75.5 passer rating, just below the 78.4 season rating Henne entered with Sunday.

MISLEADING STATS

Breaking down the numbers, however, tells a different story. Henne was 15 of 30 for 170 yards before the Dolphins' game-ending possession, 69 seconds of garbage time with New England up 27-17. On the previous two Dolphins drives, during which a touchdown would've tied the score at 24, Henne went 3 of 9 for 30 yards. The calm commander of key drives against the Jets in the Dolphins' past two wins looked more like a quarterback in just his fifth NFL start, struggling with accuracy.

``I felt pretty good out there,'' Henne said. ``Sometimes, they brought some pressure and we couldn't pick up that guy. The biggest thing was to not take that sack and lose some field position, but at times I had to take that sack.''

Actually, Henne ``took'' only one sack, from blitzing safety Pat Chung. On the other sack, an 11-yard loss after Adalius Thomas engulfed Henne, he had little chance to take evasive action. It was a reverse pass out of the Wildcat formation and Thomas materialized in the middle of action so quickly, running back Ricky Williams appeared hesitant to give Henne the ball.

Henne had his moments, such as going 5 for 5 on the Dolphins' 10:09 touchdown drive that opened the second half and gave them a 17-16 lead. And, drops, of which there were four in the game, hindered Henne and the Dolphins.

ANOTHER GINN DROP

One fourth-quarter incompletion, a low sizzler to Brian Hartline, also fell into the ``drop'' column. Two plays later, another incompletion, though high, could also be classified as a drop because it went through Ted Ginn Jr.'s hands.

Of course, the Ginn play followed Henne flat out missing Davone Bess on third-and-15 from the Dolphins' 27. The Dolphins faced third-and-15 because of the delay-of-game penalty.

``It was kind of a miscue between the center [Jake Grove] and I,'' Henne said. ``I wanted the ball and it's tough when you're in a silent count and you can't hear anything.

``I know I messed up with the timeout, but it was already delay of game anyway.''

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