Patriots vs. Dolphins: New England drops final regular season game, loses 33-24 to finish with 10-7 record
The New England Patriots ended their season on a whisper.
Giving a chance to get one final tune before their first playoff game in two years, they started slow and made the Miami Dolphins the kind of team that should go to the playoffs. A one-fault puzzle game on both the offense and special teams set them back at every turn, before the Dolphins were able to beat the late game comeback attempt.
Not only did the Patriots suffer defeat and a gut punch, they saw many players go down and leave the game with injuries. Isaiah Wynn, Christian Barmore and Sean Davis did not return, while Ramondre Stevenson and Damien Harris were given even more bumps during the game.
Now, the Patriots await the results of the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders games to see where they travel next weekend. A Raiders win would send them to Buffalo, and a Chargers win would send them to Cincinnati. If you want to take in all that happened in Miami in New England's latest damage, you can find the drive-by-drive recounting below.
Final Score: Patriots (10-7) 24:33 (9-8) Dolphins
The Patriots will be without their top tackler and defensive signal collar on Sunday as Kyle Duggar (arm) and Donta Hightower (knee) are inactive. Duggar missed the practice week while Hightower was mostly limited. JJ Taylor, Jarrett Stidham, and Devin Assisi continue to serve as healthy scratchers, while their usual partner in crime, Sean Wade, is out from an illness but is not on the inactive list. Yodney Kajst and Miles Bryant continue to grace the COVID list, while N'Keil Harry and Jojuan Williams will return to the lineup after suffering a controversial healthy scratch last week.
The Dolphins have some former starters who are healthy scratches as their injury reports were blank on Friday. Preston Williams, Salvone Ahmed and Vince Beagle are some of the notable names.
On the coin flip as the away team was New England's own choice and Matthew Slater correctly picked with the head. New England deferred their choice for the second half, meaning Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins would start on offense.
First quarter
Jake Bailey's opening kick by Dolphins newcomer Philip Lindsay was returned to the Miami 23-yard line. That's where Tagovailoa & Co. began, giving a screen pass to rookie Jaylen Waddle, who ran nine yards on the play before scrimmage. Tagovailoa hit Waddle again for a gain of four in the next game, resetting the chains. After two plays, the Dolphins hit Waddell again for his third catch of the day, giving him the NFL record for most receptions in a season by a rookie. Miami picked up a pair of downs first to cross midfield, before an encroachment penalty by Carl Davis was gifted five more yards. Miami carried the ball with relative ease, effectively using his RPO style on New England's underpowered defense. On third and third from the New England 25-yard line, Tagovailoa hit Miles Gaskin to move into the red zone for a gain of seven. Over the next two plays, Miami covered nine yards to establish another third, where Tagovailoa would hit Waddle in the end zone for a touchdown. A great first drive to Miami. [Patriots 0:7 Dolphins]
New England opened their first drive after a Miami touchback with a pair of runs by Damien Harris. In third and second, Jones attempted his first pass of the day and delivered a strike to Xavian Howard who made it back for a touchdown. [Patriots 0:14 Dolphins]
Back after a disastrous first drive, the Patriots went back to the field but Miami were called for too many men's penalties and New England scored a free five yards. Harris converted down first with a gain of six before the Patriots fed the ball through the air on the running back screen for a gain of five. Back on the ground, the Patriots fed Brandon Bolden, who filled in for the loss of one, bringing third and -6, when Jones' pass was forced for a punt. It was announced after the drive that it would be doubtful to return with an ankle injury to tackle Isaiah Wynn, while running back Romondre Stevenson was suspected with a head injury.
Miami started on their 11-yard line after a solid punt by Bailey. He started on the field with a seven-yard run by Duke Johnson, before Tagovello pulled another RPO and fed Durham Smith for a gain of 19. Miami faced another third down after a pair of runs, this time with three yards to convert. A Tagovailoa coup fell in and out of Devin McCourty's arms, leading to a fake punt attempt that should have failed but was ousted by a phantom unnecessary roughhousing call to Miami. Drive stays for Miami. With their new ups and downs, Miami played a screen before the clock ran out in the quarter.
Second quarter
As the second quarter opened, it started to rain in Miami Gardens. Facing down another third, Miami went back to the RPO for a gain of 11 on the ground and first down. Practice squad call up Shaun Davis stayed down after the play and eventually left the field. With the New England fresh down inside the 20-yard line, the Dolphins made it to the ground with rain. This led to third and seventh places where Tagovailoa defeated J.C. in Davente Parker's coverage. Miami kicker Jason Sanders converted a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead.
Gunner Olszewski returned the following kickoff at the New England 26-yard line. Mack Jones' first pass attempt was again rejected before he finally connected with a non-running back, hitting Hunter Henry for a lead of 36 yards. Damien Harris took a check down for six yards before Kendrick Bourne ended around nine. New England faced another 3 inches inside the Miami Red area and elected to feed Brandon Bolden, who took it from 15 yards to the end zone.
The Dolphins' next drive ended before the finish as Kyle Van Noy Bory forced three more outs on the third down. New England has started catching up with Miami's RPO.
New England's next possession opened with a check down for comeback Damien Harris, who quickly took it down midfield. From the Miami 45-yard line, they faced 3-and-10, where Jones fired a pass in the direction of no one. After just a singular first down, the Patriots punt.
Jake Bailey's punt sailed into the end zone to set Miami up on their 20-yard line, but he backed five yards due to a false start penalty. Jaylen Waddle dropped a pass that would have moved her into the end zone, before Duke Johnson could take just three yards to force third and -12. With his rush unit on the field, Josh Uche fell behind Tagovailoa and forced an incomplete and punt.
The Patriots were backed up to their 19-yard line to begin the series, but quickly moved around midfield after Nelson Agholor's long finish. After an incomplete and subsequent 2:00 warning, Andrew Van Ginkel made his presence felt, leaving Mack Jones for the loss of eight. Kendrick Bourne took 17 yards of screen on the third and 18th. It was enough for Bill Belichick to go on to fourth and one but Mack Jones was called for a false start and New England punts.
Bailey's punt supported Miami to their 7-yard line but the Dolphins chose not to take the game until halftime, instead moving the ball into the scoring position. He fed Duke Johnson three straight times to take 25 yards before Tua Tagovailoa was tossed over the head by Jahn Bentley. Fortunately for Miami, a passer penalty was called for pushing Matthew Judon into mid-field with 0:22 remaining. New England on third and 1 from the 44-yard line, Tagovailoa was dismissed and the clock was cut in half.
Third quarter
New England started the third quarter ten points off the ball. He hit Kendrick Bourne with Mack Jones in his 25-yard line for a gain of six, before Damien Harris and Jonnu Smith combined for eight on the ground and the first down. New England picked up just one yard in the next two plays before the Dolphins were flagged for pass interference on a third down imperfection, taking out the Patriots offense. From there he fed on Ramondre Stevenson, who scored three straight runs for 28 yards, which deepened the offense in the Miami area. A pair of Brandon Bolden sets 3rd and 5th from inside the Miami 20-yard line. New England dropped the run from there and Christian Wilkins was able to fight and bring down Jones for a sack. Nick Folk came in from 43-yards and connected.
Another Jake Bailey touchback set the Dolphins on their 25-yard line, but they quickly went past midfield with a 27-yard run by Duke Johnson. He continued to drive it with Philip Lindsay and went down on a pair carry for the first time. Dolphins officially raised them a third straight for the first time on the ground by moving them into the extended red zone. In third and 7th place from the New England 25-yard line, Miami took a shot in the final field where Jalen Mills was called for a pass interference in the end field to set up on the one-yard line. Duke Johnson punched it in the next play to extend Miami's lead to 14.
Down 14 points and running out of time, the Patriots were quickly faced down a third after a pass dropped by Kendrick Bourne. On third and fourth, Jones hit his favorite third goal in Jacobi Meyers. Meyers took a tremendous catch and covered 28 yards. After two plays, Brandon Bolden raised his own 19 yards to push down to Miami 20. This was also the time the Patriots had their second expensive trade as Mack Jones thwarted the snap and was recovered by Dolphins rookie Jaylen Phillips. Miami Football.
It seemed that the dolphin following drive was based on the killing clock. He ran the ball straight three times and came down about an inch off the first time he picked it up, but came short and eventually decided to punt. The Patriots decided they wanted to play more defense and covered the center on the punt, gifting Miami five yards and a first down.
Fourth quarter
Miami continued to run the ball, with Tagovailoa taking 23 yards on third and 6 from his side of the field. New England forced another third and -6 on their 31-yard line where they were able to make a stand and force a field goal attempt. Sanders foiled his attempt from 49 yards.
Brandon Bolden scores again. @Patriots fighting to stay alive in the AFC East race. #ForeverNE
— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2022
📺: #NEvsMIA on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/JLlmxRJJTr
Back out came the Patriots, three points down with less than 11:00 left. The first play from the scrimmage was a pass to Hunter Henry for a gain of six, then he struck Henry again on a deep corner en route for a gain of 32. He picked up a pair of downs first on runs by Brandon Bolden and Damien Harris. Third and faced with 15 where Bolden took a swing pass home for an 18-yard touchdown.
.@DHx34 for 6.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 10, 2022
📺: @NFLonCBS / Patriots app pic.twitter.com/tf7ffBaKHl
New England cut it short to force a Miami return which the Dolphins were taken to the 21-yard line. That's where Tagovailoa and the Dolphins began wiring into a potential game ceiling drive. A pair of Duke Johnson moves to third and third where Tua Tagovailoa's pass remains unfinished. Miami slammed.
New England's next campaign began 76 yards from their end field. He halved that number after a long floating pass, which was broken by Jacobi Meyers.
A pair of first downs by Damien Harris pushed him inside the Miami 15-yard line, where he took a shot in the end field to Nelson Agholor, who scored a pass interference penalty. Well set up on a yard line, Damien Harris smashes into the end zone for a touchdown. Patriots have lives.
.@DHx34 for 6.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 10, 2022
📺: @NFLonCBS / Patriots app pic.twitter.com/tf7ffBaKHl
With 2:53 remaining in the game, Miami's offense finally returned to attempt to end the game. He started strongly with a catch of 15 yards and was run by Durham Smyth. A negative run by Duke Johnson gave us a 2:00 warning. He then fed Johnson, who picked up four and set a third and -8, where Tua Tagovailoa split the two pass rushers and landed the ball first, effectively freezing the game. New England forced another third, this time as Miami ran the ball to continue beating the clock. They were short of first down and let the clock run out. With 0:14 remaining, Miami came in to punt and the Patriots looked to block it. He punts off and pinned New England on his 2-yard line with 0:03 remaining.
New England wanted to work miracles in Miami pt. 2, but Jacobi Meyers' pitch was blocked in the end zone for the Miami touchdown.
