This season just keeps getting worse for the New England Patriots as they lost their fourth straight game of the season after falling to the Miami Dolphins at home 15-10. They were horribly unprepared, they were the most undisciplined they had been in years, the defense got exhausted in the fourth quarter, and the offense was once again shut down. Sure, New England was dealing with plenty of absences and injuries, but they still lost to a Miami team that has been flat-out awful since their starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got injured. The calls for Drake Maye to start are getting louder by the day, and if Jerod Mayo wants to have any dignity left for the rest of the season, he has to get this team in order quickly. Let’s take a look at the five biggest reasons why the Patriots got humiliated once again and what was enough for the Dolphins to get back in the win column.
Patriots Week 5 Recap
1. Too Many Patriots Penalties
Sunday’s game against the Dolphins was one of the worst in terms of preparation and discipline. The Patriots committed twelve penalties for 105 yards, and a huge majority of them were holding from the offensive line. At least they did not get overwhelmed once again and only gave up two sacks, but it is not too hard to keep a pocket clean against a defense without their two best pass rushers. What happened on Sunday had nothing to do with injuries, that was about basic techniques and fundamentals that are taught at a young age. Every time that Jacoby Brissett dropped back in the pocket, the problem was not figuring out who was going to get open, but how much time he would have to get rid of the ball. One week, they cannot block anybody, and the next they commit the simplest penalties. This is easily the worst offensive line in the league, not just in terms of talent, but in execution and efficiency. It might be the quarterback’s job to throw the football and for the receivers to get open and catch them, but the more the line struggles, the worse the offense is against a given opponent. Next week, they go up against the Houston Texans, who are eighth in sacks right now and have one of the best teams in the AFC. If the Patriots were as sloppy as undisciplined as they were against the Dolphins, one can only imagine what would happen in the throwback uniforms, when this team was one of the worst in football for years.
2. Defense Exhausted in Fourth Quarter
Through three quarters, the Patriots did everything they could to win the football game. The Patriots forced a botched snap on a field goal, a missed kick, a blocked punt, and an interception by Christian Gonzalez. Miami lost their starting running back De’Von Achane in the first quarter because of a concussion, they did not score a touchdown in the first forty-five minutes, and New England led 10-9. However, as the fourth quarter began, the Dolphins just simply ran the ball down their rival’s throats and dominated the line of scrimmage. On a drive that took over seven minutes off the clock and lasted fifteen plays, Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Wright used their speed and agility to exhaust their opponent’s out, capping the drive off with a simple three-yard touchdown run by the fullback Alec Ingold. Both Mostert and Wright combined for 166 yards on the ground, fifty-six of them on the eighty-yard drive. To add more perspective, the Patriots defense has been limited and injured throughout the entire season. Christian Barmore and Ja’Whaun Bentley are out indefinitely, and they also did not have their two starting safeties Kyle Dugger or Jabrill Peppers. It was a group that had the fire and energy early on but found it dissipate as the offense continued to fail down the stretch.
3. Offense Shut Down Once Again
Once again, it took a turnover for the Patriots to score their only touchdown of the game. After Christian Gonzalez undercut Odell Beckham Jr. for an impressive interception inside Miami territory, Rhamondre Stevenson found plenty of room up the right side and a couple of key blocks to power forward for a thirty-three-yard score! Knowing that he got benched due to a fumble issue over the first four games, it was an extremely heartwarming play to watch. It was a strong reminder of all of the positive plays that the Patriots will get with Stevenson in the backfield, and he ended up having a strong 89-yard afternoon on just twelve carries. However, the rest of this offense did not show up. Brissett only threw for 160 yards, and while the line was horribly undisciplined, the wide receivers were just as sluggish themselves. The only one that made some type of impact was Demario Douglas, who caught six passes for fifty-nine yards. If Ja’Lynn Polk kept his second foot in bounds toward the end of the game, he would have been the recipient of an amazing go-ahead touchdown to put the Patriots up by at least one point. But instead, he only got one catch on six targets. Kendrick Bourne was activated off the PUP list to make his debut for the team and received just one target, in which he caught a screen for six yards. It is not too surprising that this receiving group does not have the talent it needs to be a top ten or even fifteen offense in the league, but the improvement and development that was expected in the offseason has not been evident.
4. Joey Slye Misses Another Pivotal Field Goal
In two home games, Joey Slye has missed a brutal field goal that could have determined the entire complexion and momentum. In Week 2, his 48-yard kick that got blocked in the fourth quarter allowed the Seahawks to march down the field and send the game into overtime, and then they ultimately won 23-20. This week against the Dolphins, he missed a 33-yard field goal wide to the left. For the record, an extra point attempt is from thirty-two yards. Kicking might be harder than it looks, but for somebody in the NFL, that distance is the easiest a kicker could make. Patriots fans have too many bad memories of Chad Ryland from last year after that whiff in the middle of the second quarter, and if that was good, then they would not have needed a touchdown to win this game. Slye is certainly not the biggest reason why New England lost this game, but his miss was absolutely a small turning point in what was a defensive grudge match.
5. When Does Mayo Start the Rookie?
Right now, the fanbase for the Patriots is completely split. One side wants Brissett to start next week against the Houston Texans, while the other side has seen enough and is ready for Maye to get control of the offense. Both of them have valid points. The Patriots have too many flaws on the offensive side that will ruin Maye’s development, but the team needs some type of spark if they do not want a repeat of what happened last year. Mayo has an insanely difficult decision to make, but he is going to have to pull the plug eventually. It might be his first season on the job, but it has been a disaster so far. When the Kraft family decided to move on from Bill Belichick after twenty-three years, they were hoping that a fresh start would abound. Not only are the same struggles and problems from last year still present, but there is even more drama on and off the football field. If he wants to hold onto his job and prevent a mutiny from taking place in his locker room, then he needs to get this team in order and make some big moves fast, because patience runs very thin in the state of Massachusetts.
Main Image: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
