No comparing Pats, Dolphins
New England rolls as Miami heads toward dead end.
FOXBOROUGH,MASS.— The New England Patriots had just clinched their 17th consecutive winning season, so when Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore was asked how they’ve managed it, he ran through a list of reasons.
He started by saying they’re well-coached. They’re consistent. Smart. Limit mistakes. Limit penalties. Have good players. Make it hard for opponents.
And somewhere, as Moore spoke, came this thought: Picture the opposite of these attributes and you picture the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins managed a familiar litany of mistakes Sunday to lose to the Patriots 35-17.
In one sense, this was just one more loss in a string of five. In another sense, it’s much more.
For starters, the Dolphins fell to 4-7, meaning any momentum gained when they went 10-6 in coach Adam Gase’s rookie season last year has ceased. When last season ended, players spoke about how the bar no longer was being set at merely making the playoffs. And now?
“Right now, we’ve just got to worry about winning one game,” Gase said.
When Moore was asked what’s left to play for, now that what the team set out to accomplish is out of reach, he began with a telling response: “Yeah.”
Yeah, as in, this team isn’t eliminated from the playoff race in the jumbled AFC if you want to go by fuzzy math. But players know where this season is headed. The same place every season except one since 2008 has gone — to a dead end.
Gase sounded especially downcast, struggling to find positives.
“We had less pre-snap penalties,” Gase said. “So that was a positive.”
Players also were reluctant to blame others for glaring mistakes. Take a play late in the first half. The Dolphins, trailing 21-10, got a break when Tom Brady threw his first interception in several generations. They drove to New England’s 15-yard line and sent DeVante Parker — former No. 1 pick who’s supposed to be their go-to guy in the red zone — to convert.
Parker hit the goal line and curled outside. Cornerback Stephone Gilmore established his ground inside. Moore’s pass went inside. At this point, since Parker had no chance of catching the ball, it was his responsibility to play defensive back and make sure Gilmore didn’t, either.
It would have afforded Miami two more chances to score. Make no mistake: Parker knew the ball was coming because he looked back as it was airborne, turned away, then looked back a second time, all the while never slamming on the brakes to protect his quarterback.
Moore was informed that Parker admitted he needed to fight more for that ball.
“He said that?” Moore said. “And I can throw a better ball.”
Gilmore said he knew where Parker was headed from film study, “so I just beat him to the spot.”
More covering for one another occurred among the patchwork offensive line, with center Mike Pouncey saying, “It is not my job to call out whose fault it was” on sacks the Dolphins conceded. And did they ever concede. The Patriots entered with only 17 sacks — fewer than all but three teams. They had seven on Moore, including two consecutively with 10 minutes left after Miami improbably cut the deficit to 28-17.
“It’s hard when you’re going backwards,” Moore said.
There was one point in which backing down would have been prudent.
Cornerback Bobby McCain, who had the interception against Brady, was tussling with receiver Danny Amendola after a play when officials nailed McCain for throwing a punch. He was ejected.
Remember what Moore said about the Patriots (9-2) making it hard on opponents?
On this day, the Patriots were atypically generous, committing two turnovers and allowing the defensive score. But the Dolphins made it easy for unheralded running back Rex Burkhead, a fifth-year pro who’d produced six touchdowns in his career. He scored two touchdowns in the first 1 1/2 quarters.
At this point, Patriots coach Bill Belichick knows he can virtually toss anyone onto the field against the Dolphins. He figuratively thumbed his nose across the field on the fourth play of the game, calling a fake punt by upback Nate Ebner from his own 27-yard line. But that’s not all. Belichick called it on fourth-and-8, meaning he either knew it would succeed or figured even if it didn’t, Miami’s offense couldn’t capitalize. Ebner ran 14 yards, setting up Burkhead’s 2-yard scoring run.
Big plays? The Patriots had 10 of 20 yards or more. The Dolphins had one.
“We need to put a good game together here real quick,” Gase said.
But anywhere you look, whatever the Patriots do, the Dolphins do the opposite. And wherever the Patriots are headed, the Dolphins are going the opposite way.