Dolphins' Momentum Halted by Dominant Patriots, but All Is Not Lost in Miami

The Miami Dolphins went into Foxborough and ran up against an absolute buzzsaw in their 36-7 loss to the the New England Patriots.

On the surface, the Dolphins' Week 8 loss appears to be a miserable one. However, there is reason to believe that this was just an impossible matchup as opposed to a sign of things to come.

When matching up against the Patriots, having ample time to prepare is paramount.

The Dolphins didn't have that.

It showed in their inability to stop the Patriots pass rush. Ryan Tannehill was pressured on what seemed like every drop back, this was due in large part to the lackluster output from the team's running backs. 

The Dolphins were forced to abandon the running game early due to its ineffectiveness—they ran the ball just eight times in the second half—and this shift allowed the Patriots to send a number of different looks at Tannehill and the offensive line. That increased pass rush resulted in five sacks and two interceptions for the Pats.

That Tannehill was able to throw for 255 yards under the type of pressure he faced is a miracle.

Struggles on offense in the first half were evident and costly, enough so that Tannehill made note of it during his post-game presser. 

It couldn't have been much worse for the offense, but there are some positives to take from this game—especially from the first half, and the first drive of the second half.

Despite all their struggles on offense—the Dolphins logged just 76 total yards in the first half—went into halftime trailing the Patriots by three scores. This was a direct result of the team's play on defense.

The unit came out slow on the first possession and were whooped for an 80-yard touchdown drive. However from that point forward, the defense played quite well, as displayed in the chart below.

Splits	Plays	Yards Allowed	Points Allowed
First Drive	8	80	7
Rest-of-Half	31	117	10
Total	39	197	17

It was certainly an encouraging first half, but the most impressive part of the Dolphins game was the way they came out for the second half. On their opening drive of the second half, the o-line held up long enough for Tannehill to systematically pick apart the Patriots defense, en-route to a seven-play, 80-yard drive to bring them back within 12.

The Dolphins have the capability of stringing together strong drives like that on a regular basis, just not against this Patriots team. The Pats came out and throttled the Dolphins tonight, but head coach Dan Campbell wants them to remember it, and use it.

After relieving former head coach Joe Philbin from his duties, the Dolphins, under Campbell, came out of their Week 5 matchup looking like a totally different team. Sure, their wins in Week 6 and Week 7 came against two squads—the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans—that barely pass as NFL franchises, but the Dolphins didn't just win those games, they blew those two teams out.

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Now, with that unfavorable matchup against the Patriots out of the way, the Dolphins can take their extra couple of days to prepare for a matchup against a Buffalo Bills squad that has played a miserable brand of football in their past two weeks.

From there, the Dolphins will encounter winnable matchups with the Eagles (Week 10) and Cowboys (Week 11) before heading to the Meadowlands for a pivotal Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets.

Their schedule isn't easy, but their upcoming games are certainly winnable.

Furthermore, at 3-4, the Dolphins are right in the thick of the AFC wild-card picture, as they sit just one game back of the Steelers, and 1.5 back of the Jets at the time of this article.

One thing they will have to contend with, though, is the potential loss of All-Pro defensive end Cameron Wake for an extended period of time. According to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the current belief is that Wake will miss the remainder of the 2015 season with an Achilles injury.

Replacing Wake's production won't be easy, but the Dolphins defense has been solid all year, ranking in the league's top-half in total defense.

As far as this week goes, no one expected the Dolphins to win.

Going into Foxborough on short rest is no easy task, and playing the Patriots on short rest in a prime-time matchup is that much more difficult. In short, it's no surprise that the Dolphins lost.

For those same reasons, it's easy to see how the Dolphins can rebound, as this loss can be chalked up to unfortunate circumstances and poor timing. With that in the back of their minds, and extra time to prepare, you can bet the Dolphins will be ready when they take on a reeling Bills squad in Week 9.