5 takeaways from Patriots’ dramatic loss to Dolphins

The Patriots seemingly regained the lead off of a TD catch from Ja’Lynn Polk with a minute left, but it was ruled incomplete.

The Patriots fell to the Dolphins in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday afternoon, with Miami holding on for a 15-10 win at Gillette Stadium.

New England nearly reeled off a last-minute score to pull away with a win, but a potential TD catch from rookie Ja’Lynn Polk was ruled incomplete after review. It was a frustrating end to an ugly afternoon of football — with several flags and lapses in execution dropping New England to 1-4 this season.

Here’s five takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

Polk’s potential game-winning TD taken off the board

After three-and-a-half quarters of dreadful execution on offense, New England seemingly put it all together when the stakes were at their highest.

After Miami took a 15-10 lead with 4:34 left on the clock, New England responded with its best drive of the game — marching 65 yards down the field. With a little over a minute left on the clock, Jacoby Brissett hit rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk for a touchdown — seemingly setting the stage for a dramatic victory.

But upon further review, Polk’s catch was ruled incomplete due to Article 7 of the NFL rulebook.

“If any part of the foot hits out of bounds during the normal continuous motion of taking a step (heel-toe or toe-heel), then the foot is out of bounds. A player is inbounds if he drags his foot, or if there is a delay between the heel-toe or toe-heel touching the ground,” the rule notes.

After Polk’s TD was taken off the board, New England turned the ball over on downs with a pair of incompletions and a false start. It was a crushing way to end yet another frustrating loss.

Ugly football all around

The Dolphins might have left Gillette Stadium with a win, but the writing is on the wall that both teams are going to dread what’s revealed on the game tape tomorrow.

Because Sunday was downright ugly in several facets of the game for both the Patriots and Dolphins.

New England struggled with penalties all afternoon, entering halftime with twice as many penalties (six) as first downs (three). They finished with 15 first downs … and 12 penalties (resulting in 105 yards)

Things would have been far worse for New England had Miami not been marred by several critical miscues as well.

On Miami’s second drive of the afternoon, the Patriots were whistled for 12 men on the field during a 4th-and-1 punt — giving the Dolphins a first down. But QB Tyler Huntley responded by throwing an interception just two plays later, setting the stage for a Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown in short order.

Miami had several other chances to put points on the board, only to squander critical plays on special teams. Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders missed a field-goal attempt from 41 yards at the end of the first quarter.

Miami missed another opportunity within field-goal range just before the two-minute warning in the second quarter — with a bad snap at New England’s 25-yard line leading to a loss of 23 yards and a punt.

A particularly ugly sequence for both teams came in the closing minutes of the second quarter. After Brenden Schooler blocked a punt from Miami’s Jake Bailey, New England had a prime chance to build their lead after starting a drive at the Dolphins’ 23-yard line.

But despite that prime field possession, New England’s subsequent drive featured:

Two holds.

One hit on Brissett.

Seven plays.

4:22 of time off the clock.

And a 33-yard missed field goal from Joey Slye.

Much like its Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, New England was also knocked for some poor clock management. With the ball inside their own five-yard line and with 1:50 left in the first half, New England ran the ball once, let the clock run, and threw two incomplete passes.

A subsequent poor punt from Bryce Baringer gave Miami the ball on New England’s 44 with 55 seconds to go and three timeouts at their disposal.

Miami had a shot at closing out the half with three points, but another poor snap prevented Sanders from attempting a 51-yard field goal — a fitting end to an ugly half of football.

The second half wasn’t much better. Keion White was knocked for two penalties on Miami’s first drive of the third quarter, including a roughing the passer call off an incompletion by Huntley on third down.

Those two flags against White allowed Miami to get back on the scoreboard off of a 32-yard field goal with 7:50 left in the third.

New England’s 10th penalty of the game was a back-breaker, with linebacker Christian Elliss whistled for defensive pass interference on a 3rd-and-13 sequence for Miami. Granted new life, the Dolphins went on to cap off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Alec Ingold — giving Miami a 15-10 lead that held for the rest of the game.

The Patriots already have little working for them on offense. But with such a slim margin of error afforded to them, they can’t keep shooting themselves in the foot with all of these flags.

New England’s passing game remains grounded

Expectations weren’t exactly high for New England’s offense on Sunday, especially with starting center David Andrews ruled out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.

And sure enough, the results were as expected for a Patriots passing game that appears to be fundamentally broken at this point.

Brissett closed out Sunday’s game completing just 18 of 34 passes for only 160 passing yards — most of which came in the closing minutes of action.

New England’s pass protection woes continued against the Dolphins, especially up the middle with Andrews’ replacement at center in Nick Leverett. In total, the Patriots coughed up two sacks, nine QB hits, and nine holding penalties.

At this point, the Patriots’ horrid offensive line is what it is — especially when factoring in injuries. But Brissett and New England’s wideouts also can’t be absolved of blame, as the veteran QB was knocked at times for holding onto the ball too long and missing reads, while several pass-catchers also dropped passes that would have moved the chains.

New England’s final drive did showcase some promise, especially with DeMario Douglas reeling in three catches for 30 yards. Still, it was too little, too late.

Stevenson bounces back

After getting benched in New England’s opening drive following a fourth fumble in four games, Rhamondre Stevenson responded for New England.

Once Christian Gonzalez gave New England great field position (Miami’s 43) with his first interception of the season, Stevenson capitalized — reeling off a 33-yard touchdown in what was just his third touch of the afternoon.

Stevenson finished with 89 rushing yards off of 12 carries. Antonio Gibson also ramped things up as the game carried on, finishing with 52 yards off six carries.

With New England’s passing game and offensive line in shambles, the Patriots are going to have to rely on Stevenson and Gibson in order to string together sustained drives.

But the Patriots didn’t necessarily lean into their run game on Sunday, with Brissett still attempting 34 passes.

Some of that emphasis on the passing game is a byproduct of not overtaxing Stevenson, especially given his fumbling issues as of late.

But Sunday stood as a step in the right direction for the talented back.

Christian Gonzalez steps up

Miami’s offense has severely regressed since Tua Tagovailoa went down with a concussion in Week 2.

Still, the Dolphins boast two of the top pass-catchers in the game in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Add in that New England had to play without its two starting safeties in Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger, and this could have been a long afternoon for the Patriots’ secondary.

But New England received a major lift from Christian Gonzalez, who recorded his first interception of the season while jumping a route in the first quarter. It was a crucial momentum swing for the Patriots, especially after New England gifted Miami a new set of downs with that infraction for 12 men on the field. The Patriots scored four plays later on Stevenson’s 33-yard score.

Gonzalez nearly had another pick while matched up with Hill later in the game, snagging a throw from Huntley in the end zone. But Hill punched the ball out at the last second to end the play as an incompletion, not an interception.

The second-year corner has continued to excel in 2024, but the same can’t be said for New England’s run defense in this game.

Miami finished with 193 yards on the ground Sunday, including seven straight rushes to close out their game-winning, 95-yard drive in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

LIVE UPDATES

4:00: Polk TD gives Patriots late lead — or did it? It’s ruled incomplete. Brutal swing for New England, who then turn the ball over on downs.

3:59: Three catches for 30 yards from DeMario Douglas on this drive.

3:50: Stevenson is now walking off the field.

3:49: Stevenson is banged up. Looks like an ankle injury.

3:42: That Ellis penalty was a backbreaker. Alec Ingold runs it in from 3 yards out.

It’s 15-10 Dolphins with 4:34 left on the clock.

3:37: Yet another flag, this one on Christian Elliss a DPI on 3rd and 13.

3:21: New England has 61 passing yards through three quarters.

3:14: Christian Elliss and Jaquelin Roy team up for a sack on Huntley. Gonzalez then stops Waddle short of the sticks.

But Sanders still hits a 47-yard field goal. 10-9 game with 30 seconds left in the third.

3:09: Fifth punt of the afternoon for Bryce Baringer.

3:01: Sanders … hits a field goal? Didn’t think it was possible again. 10-6 game.

3:01: Christian Gonzalez nearly had his second pick of the day. Good move by Hill to knock the ball out of his hands.

2:59: Two 15-yard penalties for Keion White on this drive.

2:53: A promising first drive of the second half for the Patriots ends in a 38-yard Joey Slye field goal that gives New England a 10-3 lead.

New England was aided by an ill-timed roughing the passer call against Jalen Ramsey.

2:26: That was … a half of football.

7-3 Patriots.

2:21: Bad snap for the Dolphins on the field goal attempt, and this is going to be a 7-3

2:16: Brutal timing for a bad Baringer punt. Dolphins have the ball on New England’s 43 with 55 seconds left on the clock in the half.

2:09: The Dolphins, much like the Patriots, keep shooting themselves in the foot. Center snaps the ball before anyone is ready for the Dolphins offense and Miami losses 22 yards — taking them out of field-goal range.

2:00: Joey Slye’s 33-yard field goal is no good. New England took over at the Dolphins’ 23, ran six plays, and still come away with no points. Brutal.

Still a 7-3 game.

1:54: Five penalties already for New England. Sloppy game so far.

1:53: Patriots special teams makes a play. Schooler blocks Jake Bailey’s punt, and Isaiah Bolden recovers the ball. New England starts on their own 23.

1:47: Not a good start for new starting C Nick Leverett:

1:43: Brissett can’t hit Polk and a Patriots drive marred by several flags leads to a punt. Two penalties and two QB hits allowed by the O-line on that drive.

1:41: A nice gain for Gibson, but Jacobs is whistled for a hold. 1st and 20 now for New England.

1:37: Patriots bend, but don’t break on defense. After giving up several large completions, Miami is halted — with Josh Uche sacking Huntley on third down.

Sanders has a 41-yard field goal attempt, but the ball bounces off the uprights. No good.

Still 7-3 Patriots after the first quarter.

1:24: A great way from Stevenson to respond. He reels off a 33-yard touchdown on his second carry of the game. Great blocking from Onwenu and Boutte.

7-3 Patriots.

1:23: Rhamondre Stevenson is back for New England on this second series.

1:21: Patriots get bailed out by Christian Gonzalez. His second career interception gives New England favorable positioning on the field. Picked off Huntley off a slant toward OBJ.

What a play by Gonzalez.

1:19: Patriots now beating themselves. 12-Men on the field penalty leads to an automatic first down for the Dolphins on a 4th-and-1 punt.

1:13: New England’s first drive of the afternoon leads to another series where Brissett gets walloped. Two sacks on the second and third plays for the offense. Patriots punt.

1:08: Dolphins cap off a drive with a 54-yard field goal from Jason Sanders.

3-0 Miami. A clutch sack from Anfernee Jennings did stall that drive from Miami.

1:01: Patriots win the coin toss and defer. Dolphins offense up first.

12:57: Not exactly a full house today…

12:53: Meanwhile, Stephon Gilmore hands the Jets an L in London.

12:37: Another different look for the Patriots’ O-line:

12:20: Warmups are underway:

12:00: Patriots will be without their two starting safeties in Dugger and Peppers. A huge loss.

11:40: There’s no way to ignore the magnitude of David Andrews’ season-ending injury. Nick Leverett was steady stepping in for him last week, but he did run into issues with snapping the ball during preseason action.

11:30: If New England wants to win this one, it’s going to have dominate in the run game and kill the clock. With Rhamondre Stevenson not expected to start after fumbling in four straight games, we’ll see if Antonio Gibson can run with the greater reps handed to him.

11:20: Tyler Huntley is not exactly a top threat at the QB position for Miami. Still, the Dolphins boast some serious weapons with both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. New England’s secondary will need to be at their best, even if the team may not have either of their starting safeties in Dugger and Peppers.

11:10: A lot of the focus has been on the several key losses across the depth chart for New England entering Week 5, but New England is also expected to get back wideout Kendrick Bourne — who will make his debut after rehabbing back from an ACL tear.

10:50: How are Patriots fans feeling a few hours away from kick-off?