11-point underdog has its day in win
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins wore their perfect season uniforms, and for at least one game in 2017, they looked the part.
Tom Brady was intercepted twice by Xavien Howard and held without a third-down conversion Monday night, and Miami snapped the New England Patriots’ eight-game winning streak with a surprising 27-20 victory.
For the first time in four prime-time appearances this season, the Dolphins rose to the occasion.
The Dolphins (6-7) were 11-point underdogs at home, but they kept the Patriots (10-3) from clinching their ninth consecutive AFC East title — at least for another week.
Brady went 24-for-43 for 233 yards and one touch down. Miami sacked him twice and hit him five times, and the Dolphins held the Patriots to 25 yards rushing. New England was 0-for-11 on third down.
“Our focus every game is to hit the quarterback as hard as we can and make him uncomfortable,” defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. “I think we did a pretty good job of it.”
The Dolphins’ Jay Cutler threw for 263 yards and three scores, including two to Jarvis Landry. Kenyan Drake had 114 yards rushing and 79 receiving.
A Brady touchdown pass cut the deficit to 10 points with 13 minutes left, but the Patriots’ next three possessions netted 5 yards. After a New England field goal, Miami sealed the victory by recovering an onside kick with 53 seconds to go.
“This gives us a boost,” Cutler said. “Winning is what keeps you in this game. The locker room after a game, there’s nothing like it.”
Coach Adam Gase beat New England for the first time in four tries, snapping the Patriots’ 14-game road winning streak, second-best ever behind San Francisco’s 18 in a row from 1988-90.