Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots quick reaction: It was a mauling
All that free agency money and draft pick addition spent to upgrade the Dolphins defensive front? All that practice time invested on preparing for the New England Patriots running game?
Let’s just say is didn’t pay a dividend during Sunday’s regular-season opener.
Patriots 21.
Dolphins 11.
The Patriots, with new quarterback Cam Newton at the helm, ran over and through the Dolphins defense this day. Newton was as effective as a runner as he was a passer -- perhaps more so when you consider his runs set the game’s tone -- and the Dolphins never had an answer for the 6-foot-5 and 245 pound quarterback.
That wasn’t Tom Brady’s Patriots the Dolphins just lost to.
These Patriots got off 63 offensive plays. Forty two of those were runs.
The Patriots rushed for 217 yards.
It was a mauling.
Newton ran for two touchdowns. Sony Michel ran for New England’s other score.
The Patriots had 29 first downs with 18 of those coming on running plays.
“We have to do a better job on the run defense,” coach Brian Flores said. “It was based on a lot of things. Bad technique. Bad tackling ... We have to do a better job.”
And the 10-point difference kind of hid how much of a dominating performance the Patriots put on because they had what seemed to be a likely touchdown wiped out when Jerome Baker caused a N’Keal Harry fumble at the one yard line. The fumble came after a long, mashing Patriots drive that yielded nothing because the ball bounced through the end zone, resulting in a touchback for Miami.
And now you’re going to ask the question: What about the Dolphins offense?
It was an accomplice in this terrible outing.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions.
DeVante Parker, who had over 1,000 receiving yards last year, missed the second half after he apparently re-injured a hamstring injury.
The plan for the Dolphins running backs seemed weird because Miami spent a fifth-round pick on proven running back Matt Breida this offseason. But when Jordan Howard came out of the game, it was second-year player Myles Gaskin who most often took his place.
Gaskin had nine carries. Breida had five.
Howard had eight carries but only gained seven yards.
No bueno.
The Patriots led the Dolphins 7-3 at halftime. It was not a good half for Fitzpatrick. He threw two interceptions and finished with a dismal 44.7 passer rating despite completing 12 of 18 passes for 115 yards.
The Miami defense was playing relatively well, as the 7-3 score might indicate. Christian Wilkins had made a couple of plays. Rookie safety Brandon Jones started at safety and played mostly on run downs -- a surprise. And Jerome Baker was active throughout, including in the first half when he led the team in tackles and later when he caused a N’Keal Harry fumble at the 1-yard line that saved a touchdown by the Patriots.
“It was just go to the ball, run to the ball,” Baker said.
(Baker did have a couple of personal foul penalties in the fourth quarter on a drive that led to a New England touchdown.)
“The penalties are unacceptable,” Baker said, “especially the late hit. I just lost track of the sideline. It’s definitely unacceptable.”
The offensive line was solid if not necessarily spectacular. Rookies Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley seemed like they belonged. They were not over their heads at all. And neither was an obvious weak link.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
