The Patriots were 12 yards from victory, so why stop running the ball? Plus, other final thoughts.

1st and 10. Just over a minute to go. 12 yards between the Patriots and the go-ahead score. Where was the run game?

The Patriots were trailing by five when they had the ball on Miami’s 12-yard line with 1:08 remaining in the game.

It was 1st-and-10, and New England had all three timeouts. They were running the ball effectively, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. New England scored its only touchdown on a 33-yard run from Rhamondre Stevenson.

The run game has been the most promising part of the offense throughout the season. It’s what this Patriots team does best on that side of the ball.

They had four chances to pull out their best offensive plays to go 12 yards and win the game. They abandoned the run and threw four incomplete passes, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Coach Jerod Mayo did not offer much of an explanation about why they went so pass-heavy at the end of that drive.

“There were a bunch of conversations about that,” coach Jerod Mayo said. “We ended up throwing the ball. That’s what we decided to do, and ultimately it’s my decision. I would say we averaged over seven yards a carry, I’m not sure, so that definitely was part of the discussion. We just didn’t finish it up.”

Running back Antonio Gibson, who carried the ball six times for 52 yards, was asked for his opinion on the lack of run plays during that series.

“I have no reaction,” Gibson said. “That’s coach AVP and we’re all behind him. That’s our coach. He saw what he saw and his thought process was his thought process and we’ve got to execute regardless of what he calls.”

Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson each had runs of 10 yards or longer during the 11-play, 53-yard drive. The Patriots did some positive things in the passing game on the drive, with Jacoby Brissett finding Ja’Lynn Polk and DeMario Douglas for first downs.

Polk almost hauled the go-ahead touchdown, but the refs overturned the call and ruled Polk out of bounds. It was a close call, but the correct one, Mayo said.

The Patriots almost won, but the thought of being so close to victory and not giving the run game a shot from just 12 yards out keeps sticking with me. They said running the ball and playing physical football is part of their identity.

So, it was weird to see them completely go away from that with the game on the line, regardless of whether Polk stayed in bounds or not.

Here are a few more thoughts from the action:

Penalties didn’t help

Mayo had a simple message for his team after it committed just one fewer penalty (12) than first-downs picked up off of run or pass plays (13).

“We can’t do it,” Mayo said. “We preach all the time about pre-snap and post-snap penalties. It just wasn’t a good day.”

Mayo said the Patriots need to play smarter and that the mistakes aren’t due to a lack of effort. He said that everyone, including himself, has to be better.

“Yeah, the pre-snap stuff definitely bothers me,” Mayo said. “Look, we have guys, they’re out there, they’re trying their butts off, but at the same time, going back, not to sound like a broken record, it’s about execution, especially in critical situations.”

Brissett, whose 160 passing yards were his second-highest total of the season, said the Patriots need to cut down on the mistakes in order for the offense to progress.

“Oh, for sure. We’re making plays; we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot,” Brissett said. “We’re going one step forward to go 20 steps back.”

“We can’t do that, and until you get to that point we’re going to continue to be frustrated at the small things, and you can’t leave the game in the refs’ hands, that’s not what football is about. We’ve got to go out and play with good fundamentals, technique, do the little things right.”

Fatigue was a factor

The Patriots gave up 12 of the Dolphins’ 15 points in the second half.

Safety Marte Mapu posted seven tackles in his first game back from injured reserve.

Miami had the ball for almost nine minutes longer than the Patriots did and produced lengthy drives that wore New England down.

“Yeah, I know for a fact fatigue played a part in this game,” Mayo said. “You think about Marte, this being his first game and playing pretty much every snap.”

“I appreciate him doing that, but at the same time we’ve got to be able to get off the field, we’ve got to be able to move the ball offensively,” he added. “We have to win the time of possession game or at least be close, which once again, they controlled that.”

Rhamondre Stevenson responded well to his brief benching

Stevenson snapped his four-game fumbling streak after spending the opening series on the bench behind Gibson.

He ran for 89 yards and a touchdown on 12 touches, his strongest performance since the Week 1 win at Cincinnati. His 33-yard touchdown, aided by strong blocking from Mike Onwenu and Kayshon Boutte, was a highlight.

Stevenson left the game briefly after taking a hit to the calf, but decided to return. He said he does not expect the calf to be an issue going forward.

“I just felt a helmet right into my leg, right into my calf really,” Stevenson said. “I just had to make sure I was good and I was. I felt alright to get back out there.”

Dell Pettus makes his first start

With both Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger out, Patriots rookie Dell Pettus made his first NFL start.

He tied with Daniel Ekuale for a team-high nine tackles, including six solo tackles.

“It definitely sucks that we did not end up on top in terms of the outcome of the game, but this is why we practice,” Pettus said. “This is why I practice, this is why I study and stay on top of the playbook so whenever my number is called my teammates can have confidence in me and have faith that I can do my job and produce for the team.”

“So, I’m grateful for it, but losing makes everything worse.”