FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED:

Beat writer Omar Kelly’s and Steve Svekis’ five takeaways from Sunday’s loss to the Patriots.

JOSEPH GETTING MENTIONED AS HEAD COACHING CANDIDATE

Dolphins’ first-year defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s name keeps getting mentioned as a potential head coaching candidate. Joseph has done a good job making his injury-decimated unit look respectable, but he probably needs to continue to blossom as a defensive coordinator before becoming a head coach. His defense has struggled in too many areas this season for him to be viewed as a defensive mastermind.

MIAMI LOSES FIRST GAME WHERE AJAYI GETS AT LEAST 16 CARRIES

Jay Ajayi, who finished third in Dolphins history for rushing yards in a season, gained 59 yards on 16 carries against the Patriots. Sunday was the first time this year that Miami lost a game when Ajayi had 16 or more carries.

DOLPHINS NEED TO LURE BENNETT TO MIAMI IN OFFSEASON

Martellus Bennett, who caught three passes for 33 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins, would fit perfectly in coach Adam Gase’s offense. Bennett, who played for Gase in Chicago, is one of the few all-purpose tight ends left in the NFL. His presence would help Gase diversify Miami’s offense even more.

THE O-LINE LINE REALLY LOCKED DOWN ITS PASS PROTECTION WITH MOORE AT QB

Matt Moore was sacked once in 88 dropbacks after coming in for the injured Ryan Tannehill on Dec. 11. The Dolphins ended up allowing 30 sacks for the season, the fewest since the 26 of 2008 with Chad Pennington under center. The Dolphins benchmark for the most dropbacks per sack is Dan Marino's 102.0 in 1988 (612 dropbacks, six sacks).

DOLPHINS’ INJURY-RIDDLED DEFENSE HAS FALTERED GREATLY SINCE THANKSGIVING

The Patriots piled up 261 first-half yards and were on pace to become the fourth offense since the last weekend in November to gain at least 475 yards against Miami. The tempo settled down in the second half as the Pats gained 135 yards in the final 30 minutes, but, still, the Dolphins have a lot of offseason heavy lifting to do defensively.