Dolphins vs. Patriots: New England Grades, Notes and Quotes
For the second time in four days, the New England Patriots defused a potential division uprising against a feisty AFC East rival. However, this win was much easier, as the Pats rolled over a hapless Miami Dolphins squad, snapping the Fins' two-game winning streak with a commanding 36-7 victory.
The offense opened the night with a bang, converting a 3rd-and-16 on its first drive before a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Rob Gronkowski put New England on the board first. Following a pair of punts, the Pats caught a huge break when Miami center Mike Pouncey snapped the ball before Ryan Tannehill was ready in the shotgun, sailing the ball into the end zone and netting the Pats a safety and a 9-0 lead early in the second quarter.
New England's offense subsequently stalled out, picking up just two first downs on its first three drives of the quarter, but the sleepy Patriots received a big jump-start from a Logan Ryan interception that set them up in Miami territory. Though the offense could only turn that into a 52-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal, the Pats subsequently reached the end zone on their next drive, taking a 19-0 lead into the locker room.
The Dolphins came out with new life in the second half, with Tannehill completing four of five passes for 75 yards on an 80-yard touchdown drive. The Pats were able to counter with a field-goal drive, taking a 22-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
Duron Harmon put the nail in the coffin on Miami's opening drive of the fourth, diving to pick off a badly overthrown Tannehill pass and returning it 30 yards into the red zone. Tom Brady capped off the drive with his third touchdown pass of the game, a 10-yard toss to Julian Edelman, which helped give the Pats a 22-point lead.
Read on for complete grades and analysis from New England's sterling showing, which made the Patriots the NFL's first 7-0 team this season.
Position Grades for Patriots
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | A |
| WR | A- |
| TE | A |
| OL | B |
| DL | A |
| LB | A |
| DB | B+ |
| Special Teams | A- |
| Coaching | A |
These recaps usually begin with a review of the offense, but the story of the game was New England's stellar defense against one of the league's hottest offenses. We'll talk more about how the Pats contained Lamar Miller, but much of the credit for that performance goes to the defensive line, which may have played its best all-around game of the season.
In playing wire-to-wire, Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich were masterful in setting the edge against Miami's perimeter run concepts and also chipped in three sacks in the pass rush. Akiem Hicks, who has played in a rotational defensive tackle role since arriving via trade from New Orleans, flashed quite a bit alongside Sealver Siliga in the interior as well.
In the secondary, the Pats again used Malcolm Butler in the slot, this time having the second-year corner shadow Jarvis Landry. Though Miami's slot receiver compiled 71 yards on six catches, Butler was much more successful in preventing Landry from slipping free on third downs, the issue that plagued him against Eric Decker and the New York Jets last Sunday.
Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon, a pair of improving third-year Rutgers products, each came up with their third interceptions of the season, tying each other for the team lead.
The offensive line did have its share of struggles in the first half, with Cameron Fleming committing two penalties and Sebastian Vollmer having his issues against Olivier Vernon on the weak side. However, as the unit did in the Jets game, the line tightened up against the pass rush in the second half, enabling the Pats to score on three of its first four second-half possessions.
In general, the Patriots appeared significantly more prepared than their division counterparts, which is a testament to Bill Belichick's ability to keep his team focused amid the quick turnaround. New England is now 9-0 with Brady on Thursday night games and will enjoy its well-earned 10-day rest ahead of its Week 9 game against Washington.
Brady-to-Gronk Sets the Tone
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When the Dolphins deferred to the second half after winning the opening coin toss, it provided Miami an opportunity to set an early tone by stopping the Patriots offense and taking the ball away from New England to start the second half. However, with one crossing route, Rob Gronkowski set the tone for the Pats' eventual blowout.
Gronk tied his season high with 113 receiving yards, with his 47-yard score representing the Pats' longest play from scrimmage of the night. On the play, the Dolphins actually had six defenders surrounding Gronk when he immediately caught the ball, but he slipped out of a Reshad Jones tackle and turned on the nitrous to outrace four other Miami defenders another 35 yards down the sideline for the score.
Miami's back seven has been an issue all season, and whether it was Gronkowski or a wide receiver running down the seams, the Dolphins had little answer for the Pats' control over the middle of the field. Unlike the Patriots' previous three opponents, Miami made no attempt to alter its scheme to take away the in-breaking routes that appear so frequently in Josh McDaniels' play calling.
On the majority of the snaps where the pass protection held up, that strategy spelled disaster for the Fins. In dissecting the Dolphins defense so thoroughly on the first drive, the Patriots got the snowball rolling within the first five minutes.
Defense Shuts Down Lamar Miller
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Last week, the Patriots prioritized stuffing Chris Ivory, who was leading the league in rushing yards per game headed into his matchup against New England. Four days later, New England again honed in on the opposing running back, with Lamar Miller having compiled an astounding 354 yards from scrimmage over his past six quarters.
After holding Ivory to just 41 yards on 2.4 yards per carry, the Pats were even more successful in suffocating Miller, who ran for a season-low 15 yards on just nine rushing attempts. In fact, the Dolphins ran for just 15 yards as a team, the franchise's sixth-lowest total in its 49-year existence.
Given that Miami had rejiggered its offense to feature Miller as its focal point under Dan Campbell, the Pats essentially kicked out the crutch that propped up an otherwise crippled Dolphins offense. Ryan Tannehill, who had been so efficient on quick-hitting timing routes over the past two games, turned in a miserable 28-of-44, two-interception performance, with much of his yardage (300 passing yards) coming in junk time.
Belichick has always prided his defensive units on their ability to eliminate the opposition's biggest threat. This should go down as one of his proudest performances, as the Pats slammed the brakes on a player who had been the league's most explosive in the prior two weeks.
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Dion Lewis Dazzles in Return
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If last week's absence was precautionary, Dion Lewis' return was well worth the wait. Perhaps with the short week in mind, the Patriots' decision to rest Lewis against the Jets paid huge dividends against Miami. Receiving 11 touches, he compiled 112 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, exceeding 90 receiving yards for the second time this season after doing so in Week 2.
The Patriots didn't necessarily prioritize Lewis in their game plan, giving LeGarrette Blount 17 carries and featuring Gronkowski and Edelman in their passing game. However, Lewis exhibited the same slippery agility and stop-on-a-dime cuts that endeared him to Patriots fans over the first six weeks, and he consistently gave Miami's lead-footed linebackers trouble.
Lewis was the central figure on two of the game's most backbreaking plays. On the opening drive, he converted a 3rd-and-16 on a screen pass, zooming through the second level and diving just ahead of the markers. And on New England's final first-half possession, he slipped out of the backfield undetected and galloped 16 yards into the end zone, putting the Patriots up 19-0 headed into the locker room.
By far the most explosive running back on the roster, Lewis added a burst of juice that was missing the prior week. The Pats will likely do regular maintenance work to ensure his health for a potential postseason run, as Lewis has proved indispensable to the offense over the season's first half.
Chandler Jones Jokes About Strong Showing
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Sack numbers are far from the only measure of an edge-rusher's value, but Chandler Jones helped himself in the flashy defensive category with two takedowns of Tannehill on Thursday. Jones now leads the league with 8.5 sacks, and after the game, he gave a quick shout-out to EA Sports, per the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels:
"Chandler Jones: "Hopefully I get my Madden ratings up after tonight."
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) October 30, 2015"
Although Jones is well on his way to eclipsing his career-high sack total of 11.5 set back in 2013, his game has never been solely built on speed on passing downs. Jones has improved as a run defender during his four years in the league, as he has the type of three-down value that is so rare in the trenches. He doesn't necessarily garner postseason award recognition like Justin Houston and Von Miller do, but Jones plays the same type of role and holds a similar value to the Patriots defense.
The hardware and honors could come if Jones keeps up this pace. The fourth-year pro appears more explosive on a down-to-down basis with fewer snaps this season, and if he continues to sustain his current level of play, the Pats could make Jones their highest offseason extension priority.
Julian Edelman: Hammer the Nail All the Way
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The Patriots kept their starters on the field until the final two minutes, despite possessing a three- or four-possession lead for virtually the entire fourth quarter. As Daniels relays, Julian Edelman repeatedly referenced a hammer-and-nail metaphor after the game in explaining New England's late-game mentality:
"Edelman: It’s more about just going out there and hammering the nail away all the way. That’s what coach always says.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) October 30, 2015"
Since its merciless 2007 run, New England has developed a reputation for playing through the duration of the 60 minutes, even beyond the point where every other team would let up. There's statistical evidence to support this theory, as SB Nation's Rich Hill passed along:
"47% of the Patriots points allowed have come after the team achieved 99% chance of victory. This is a GREAT defense pic.twitter.com/WEm1306G5D
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) October 30, 2015"
The Pats haven't really needed to sweat in the fourth quarter this season, apart from a few tense moments against the Bills and Jets. It's astounding to see the total lack of a hangover effect after 2014's Super Bowl run and the ensuing exhaustion of the offseason circus that surrounded the franchise, but the Patriots' focus has been unwavering through seven weeks.
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