Mistake-laden Miami loses 5th straight
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Gillette Stadium is typically where Miami Dolphins' seasons — and hope — get buried, and Sunday’s beatdown by the New England Patriots was no exception.
The Dolphins (4-7) struggled in every facet of the game Sunday, losing, 35-17, to a Patriots (9-2) team that accumulated 417 total yards, triggering Miami’s fifth straight loss.
As a testament to how one-sided Sunday’s game was, New England punted for the first time with 5:13 left in the third quarter.
The win extended New England’s winning streak to seven consecutive games, and the way the Patriots have been rolling it is quite possible that Bill Belichick’s team might not lose another game in 2017 considering four of their final five games are against AFC East opponents, which includes a rematch between these two teams in a Dec. 11 game that will be played inside Hard Rock Stadium on Monday Night Football.
The Dolphins better hope they get healthier, and their coaches find some answers for the team’s struggling offense, defense and special teams units by then. So far none of the proposed solutions have been working.
"Sometimes you have to look at yourself in the mirror, man to man and tell the truth," Dolphins safety Michael Thomas said.
The mirror is showing the Dolphins are an ugly football team.
Miami played the Patriots with Matt Moore, a 10-year veteran, making his 31st NFL start because of the concussion Jay Cutler suffered in last week’s loss to Tampa Bay, and even though Moore had a hot hand coming into Sunday’s game he was extremely ineffective — and poorly protected — against the Patriots, who sacked him seven times, and intercepted two of his 34 passes.
"Two losses," Moore said when asked about his two starts caused by Cutler’s injuries this season. "You want to go out and play well for yourself, play well for your teammates and you want to win and we haven’t done that.
"It’s hard. It’s an emotional game. Guys take it to heart when you put so much into it and you don’t get what you want out of it."
The Dolphins’ offense, which was suffocated by lackluster play from the offensive line, produced 221 total yards. The most troublesome aspect of the game — outside of the constant pressure placed on Moore — was the two first-half drives that stalled in the red zone.
On the first, the Dolphins squandered a scoring opportunity as Miami failed to gain a yards on three consecutive passes, leading to a 28-yard Cody Parkey field goal.
And on the second one, a short pass intended for receiver DeVante Parker was picked off inside the end zone by Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, preventing the Dolphins from closing the 21-10 halftime deficit.
Miami’s first score of the game was produced by a Tom Brady fumble that safety Reshad Jones picked up.