Brady, Patriots Use 3rd Quarter Explosion To Rout Dolphins 41-13
The Patriots got a bit of redemption on Sunday afternoon as they used a tremendous burst to open the second half to beat the Miami Dolphins 41-13 at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots outscored Miami 27-0 in the second half after playing a listless first half and limped in with a 14-13 lead although being outplayed by a wide margin. The win secured the Patriots with the AFC East Championship for the 6th year in a row and their 12th in the past 14 years.
It was the “Hat and T-shirt” game for the Patriots and many of the players were seen sporting both in pictures in a happy locker room afterward. For many of the younger players and a few veterans who came in this season from less successful teams, it was their first chance to wear a Division Champs shirt and they were basking in the moment. For the record, two more hat and t-shirt games remain, but those are still far down the road.
Other observations from Sunday include:
Brady Run Awakens Slumbering Patriots Offense: Miami had outplayed New England in the first half but thanks to two big plays on special teams and the defense, were down only a point. The lackluster play drew the ire of Tom Brady, who early in the third quarter rallied the troops by scrambling for 17 yards on a third and 11.
Normally Brady rallies the team with his arm but he was in the position to scramble for a big first down on the team’s first drive of the third quarter and he did so. But once he got the first down, Brady didn’t opt to slide or run out of bounds. He was looking for contact and he and DB Walt Aikens had a big collision at the sideline that Brady got the worse of. It made little difference, Brady was fired up and so were the Patriots.
The play ignited the team and it awoke in a big way. Miami entered the game with the biggest point differential in their favor in the third quarter. But a 24 point explosion (team record) ensued and this one was over by the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Defense Steps Up Again: After spotting the Dolphins a big touchdown at the end of the first half to narrow the lead to 14-13, the Patriots defense rallied and Miami was white washed in the second half. It also brought up an interesting stat, that in the past four games, New England’s defense has allowed just six points total after half-time. That speaks very well of adjustments being made by Bill Belichick and Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia.
The defense was buoyed by the return of DE Chandler Jones and LB Dont’a Hightower on Sunday. Hightower missed the San Diego game with a shoulder injury and Jones missed the last eight weeks with a hip injury. Jones played more than expected on Sunday and seemed to have his normal burst off the edge and chipped in 1.5 sacks.
Darrelle Revis was once again outstanding shadowing first Jarvis Landry then in the second half covering Mike Wallace who abused rookie Malcolm Butler on the first snap from scrimmage for a 50 yard pass play and then on a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone at the end of the first half for a touchdown.
Brandon Browner provided physical coverage opposite Revis but was flagged twice, once deserved but the other was simply a brutal “reputation-type” call. Browner however got the last laugh, when he popped the receiver on Pat Chung’s interception, forcing the ball into the air. Chung returned it to the Miami 27 where it took Brady just five seconds to put the game away with a 27 yard strike to Gronkowski down the seam.
The Patriots run defense, gashed in the opener in Miami also got a bit of payback in this one, limiting the Dolphins to only 76 yards on 23 carries good for a 3.1 yard average. Lamar Miller was able to only generate 47 yards on 16 carries. Miami was only 3 of 16 on third downs….mission accomplished.
Late First Half Sequence Hurts Team: One area that the Patriots always take pride in since Bill Belichick took over the reins as head coach is situational football. Which is why, the sequence with just 40 seconds left in the first half was so uncharacteristically poor from a production standpoint.
New England got the ball at their 15 yard line and was attempting to run out the clock with Shane Vereen who was stuffed on all three downs where the Dolphins used all three timeouts and forced a punt from the 17 after the Patriots used all of just 15 seconds on the clock.
Then the special teams, which have been solid, allowed a 32 yard return to the Patriots 32 yard line where QB Ryan Tannehill completed a deep touchdown pass to Wallace. Initially ruled incomplete, the replay officials correctly ruled it a catch and touchdown. A rare failure for the coaching staff in getting beat at situational football.
Another Big Milestone Day For the Patriots: The Dolphins game was a day of team and personal milestones for the Patriots. As we mentioned above, the 24 points in the third quarter was a team record as they blew open a close game with a dominant second half effort. But some of the personal ones include:
Bill Belichick win (regular season and playoffs) as Head Coach ties him with the great Curly Lambeau at 229 career victories. The two are now tied for fourth place in NFL history and for a student of the game like Belichick, he has to be quietly pleased today.
Stephen Gostkowski’s 35 yard field goal moved him past the great Adam Vinatieri as the Patriots all-time points leader. Passing Vinatieri’s 1158 points, Gostkowski has been an extremely solid kicker in his career in New England.
Rob Gronkowski’s catch at the beginning of the third quarter pushed him over the 1000 yard mark. It is Gronkowski’s second 1000 yard season, and he is the only Patriots tight end to accomplish the feat twice.
Rob Ninkovich’s sack of Ryan Tannehill late in the fourth quarter marked his eighth of the season and his third straight season of at least eight sacks tying the mark of Patriots great Andre Tippett.
Jamie Collins Continues to Impress: The Patriots second year linebacker continues to get better every week and Sunday was no exception. During the buildup to the Dolphins game this week, he was lauded by Bill Belichick for his uber-athleticism and his football smarts. He was able to put both on display on Sunday to great effect.
On the Dolphins first drive of the game, they hit a big pass to Mike Wallace that set them up inside the Patriots 30 yard line. After the defense rallied, Miami lined up for a FG attempt. Collins was able to get his hand up to block the kick and CB Kyle Arrington scooped it up and ran it back 62 yards for a Patriots touchdown. It was an amazing turn of events that Collins was able turn what was looking like a scoring opportunity for Miami into seven points for New England.
He was also able to provide solid coverage and was a factor in the running game, recognizing a play to Miller and stuffing the running back in the backfield. Collins, now with the defense starting to get healthy may be allowed to blitz a bit more as the season winds down and with his speed, could be a big factor.
62 Shades of Gray: It seems that Jonas Gray is finally out of Bill Belichick’s doghouse and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Gray gave a boost to the Patriots offense in the second half carrying the ball 11 times for 62 yards (5.6 ypc) and added a pass reception for 7 yards.
On a day where the offensive line couldn’t get LaGarrette Blount to the second level and he was largely ineffective in the running game, Gray responded with a nice effort and produced most of the Patriots 108 rushing yards on the day.
Gray helped get the offense going in the second half and was a key part of the team’s 24 point explosion in the third quarter. And against his former team to boot, Gray spent 2012 on the Dolphins practice squad.
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