Landry wanted challenge on fourth-down try
FOXBOROUGH,MASS.— The Dolphins aren’t a team anyone would expect to convert a third-and-28, but they were inches away late in Sunday’s 35-17 loss to New England.
After Matt Moore got 17 yards on a quick pass to Kenyan Drake, they went for it on fourth-and-11 and Moore got the ball to Jarvis Landry for what could have been a 13-yard gain and a first down. It was a close call as Landry hit the turf while trying to hold on to the ball, but the officials ruled it incomplete and gave the ball to the Patriots at the Miami 38.
Landry was adamant that he caught the ball and was upset that coach Adam Gase didn’t challenge the call with 8:48 left and his team down 28-17.
“I think we were in the position then where (the risk of losing the challenge) really didn’t matter,” Landry said. “I mean, we didn’t have (expletive) to lose, you know. Throw the flag and see what happens and go from there. We didn’t have anything to lose.
“We’re giving the ball up on our side of the field, and something could potentially turn in our favor. Who knows? But we didn’t have anything to lose, so we should’ve just threw the flag.”
Landry said Gase did not explain to him why he declined to challenge it. Gase was not asked about the play in his postgame press conference. Replays on television showed the ball appearing to hit the ground.
New England quickly scored to push its lead to 35-17.
Landry was the Dolphins’ most productive offensive player with 70 yards on eight catches. The pass in question was the only one he didn’t catch.
Parker takes blame for interception: Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker was asked what happened on an interception thrown his way by Moore near the end of the first half.
“Attack the ball,” Parker said in the locker room after Miami’s loss to New England on Sunday.
Was Parker saying he needs to do a better job at attacking the ball and preventing the interception?
“Yes,” Parker said.
Miami was trailing 21-10 and a touchdown could have put Miami within four points. But as has happened before this season, it was a demoralizing end to the half due to an interception.
Too many times this year, Parker has been targeted on plays that result in interceptions.
“I thought Matt (Moore) made the right read,” Gase said.
“I would have to watch the film, don’t know if he was early or DeVante didn’t think it was coming to him? You know, that quickly. It looked like the ball was in the air, when he got his head around, he was trying to stop, then fell.”
Parker had only one catch for five yards Sunday. Why are so many passes to Parker resulting in interceptions?
“I mean, that’s hard to say,” Gase said. “I mean, every play is a different play.”
Moore regrets 0-2 record as starter: Moore has started two games this season, and lost both, and so he is not ignorant to the idea that it is a significant missed opportunity for the perennial backup.
“Two losses,” Moore said of games started at Baltimore and New England. “The only stat that matters is the win and loss. So it’s not how I wanted it to go. You want to go out and win a game, when you get that opportunity. You want to win. You want to play well for yourself. You want to play well for your teammates. And you want to win. And we haven’t done that.”
Moore was 23 for 34 for 215 yards with one touchdown, but also threw two interceptions and was sacked seven times.
“It was just one of those days, man,” Moore said. “They did a lot of things, obviously, that got us. But it’s a physical game, part of the game.
Moore replaced Jay Cutler this season after Moore broke his ribs and also after he suffered a concussion. There may have been an argument to start Moore down the stretch, but he’s 0-4 in his last four starts, including the season-finale against New England last year and a road playoff game at Pittsburgh.
“If we had the answer, we would have fixed it already,” Moore said.
McCain points to Amendola’s cheap shots for ejection: One of the most common things said about cornerback Bobby McCain around the Dolphins’ organization is that he does everything right. McCain is the last guy the staff expects to blow a coverage or make a technique error. He’s as reliable as it gets.
In Sunday’s loss, though, he made a major misstep.
McCain got into a scuffle with New England receiver Danny Amendola with 10:33 left in the third quarter and Miami down 21-10, and the officials ejected him for appearing to throw a punch.
“I apologized to the team,” McCain said afterward, showing no reluctance to taking questions about the incident. “The guys are with me. I let the team down. At the end of the day, not being on the field is letting your team down. I talked to the guys, and they’re all with me.
“It sucks, man. It sucks sitting in the locker room watching your brothers play. It’s not even fun at all.”
McCain and Amendola hadn’t had issues during the game until that series, which was a 77-yard touchdown drive for the Patriots.
He said Amendola took cheap shots after three straight plays leading up to the one that got McCain thrown out. He was frustrated that the officials didn’t see Amendola grabbing his face mask and getting him by the neck. FOXBOROUGH, MASS. — The Dolphins stumbled at the start, made it more competitive than some expected, but ended up losing their fifth straight Sunday, this time 35-17 to the New England Patriots. The loss assured the Dolphins of taking a step backward from last season’s 10-6 record and playoff berth. They’re now 4-7 and still in the playoff race only if you look at it mathematically. Breaking down another dismal afternoon:
QUARTERBACK
The Dolphins had a chance to make a statement late in the second quarter. But on first-and-10 from the New England 15 and 16 seconds left, Matt Moore looked to DeVante Parker, but cornerback Stephon Gilmore had established inside position and easily made an interception in the end zone. Moore also underthrew an open Kenny Stills on a flea flicker, but a pass interference penalty on the Patriots salvaged the big gain. Moore received little help from his line, getting sacked a half-dozen times.
RUNNING BACKS
It wasn’t as long ago as it seems that Adam Gase was feeling so good about his depth here. The Jay Train left the station weeks ago. Then Senorise Perry went down, checked into concussion protocol. Then Damien Williams jammed his shoulder and also was done for the day. That left Kenyan Drake as the only RB left standing. And seconds after Williams was carted off, Drake fumbled. Could it be any more bleak?
DRECEIVERS
Maybe Parker wasn’t going to catch the Dolphins’ last pass of the first half, but he could have and should have made more of an effort to break up the interception by Gilmore. Jarvis Landry had a reasonable day, but Parker was silent all day and Stills — coming off a 180-yard day — didn’t come alive until late in the game.
DOFFENSIVE LINE
The Dolphins showed signs of life, trailing by 11 with 10:28 left, when Miami managed to give up two sacks and commit a holding penalty in a span of two plays. Reasonable field position (on the Miami 39) instantly became third-and-28 on the Dolphins’
21. Critical time, critical plays. A desperation, fourth-down throw to Landry was ruled incomplete.
DDEFENSIVE LINE
Nondescript day for the line. Terrence Fede did a nice job boxing out Tom Brady on that errant snap. It allowed Reshad Jones to return the fumble for a touchdown. Given the salary of this line, you’d want more than remembering just one play.
DLINEBACKERS
Is anyone surprised that the Dolphins’ inability to cover tight ends cost them when going against Rob Gronkowski? His second touchdown, a 15-yarder in the third quarter on a soulcrushing, 77-yard drive, typified the Dolphins’ troubles. Gronkowski ran straight at Kiko Alonso, then cut outside. Gronk ran towards the pylon. Alonso was flatfooted. Touchdown. Getting beat by an AllPro like Gronkowski is one thing, but allowing two TDs by Rex Burkhead, a fifth-year pro who’d scored six total TDs entering this game? Seriously?
FDEFENSIVE BACKS
Jones was alert, scoring Miami’s second defensive TD, this time on a 14-yard return of a fumble after the center snapped the ball before Brady expected it. That gave the Dolphins life at 14-7 in the second quarter. That’s the good news. There isn’t enough space for the bad news. Start with all those 20-yard gains by the Patriots. Passes to receivers so wide open, you’d be guessing when trying to figure out who blew the coverage. Even if you’re generous and excusing some of those given the quality of the opponent, there can be no excusing a third-quarter sequence in which Xavien Howard was called for a facemask penalty, then Bobby McCain threw a punch at a prone Danny Amendola. McCain was ejected.
FSPECIAL TEAMS
The Dolphins were livid that Michael Thomas wasn’t credited with a fumble recovery on a punt early in the second half. They should have been livid that Bill Belichick thought so little of their coverage that on the first series of the game, he called a fake punt from his 27-yard line. With 8 yards to go for a first down. Upback Nate Ubner took the snap and ran 14 yards. Four plays later, it was 7-0.
F