Five Takeaways From Patriots’ Season-Sinking Loss To Dolphins
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Yes, there are nine games still to play. But the Patriots’ 2023 season essentially ended Sunday in South Florida.
Here are five takeaways from New England’s 31-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium:
1. The Patriots should be trade-deadline sellers
The playoffs now are a pipedream for the Patriots, who, at 2-6, are closer to landing the No. 1 overall pick than they are to qualifying for the postseason. They have the worst record in the AFC.
Only three teams since the 1970 merger lost six of their first eight games and then rallied to make the playoffs, and all three finished with nine or fewer wins. That almost certainly wouldn’t cut it for these Patriots, who trail every team in their own division by at least three games in the loss column.
The Patriots should be active sellers ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. For much more on that, including which players they could look to move, click here.
2. Mac Jones isn’t learning
The Patriots quarterback’s eighth interception featured more of the same mistakes he’s been making all season. He threw late, off his back foot, without enough zip on the ball, and Jalen Ramsey capitalized, undercutting Kendrick Bourne’s vertical route and returning the INT into Patriots territory.
Jones said after the game that he wasn’t fooled by Miami’s star cornerback. He knew Ramsey was lurking and just made a “bad throw.” That error wound up being one of the game’s biggest turning points. His pick came on first-and-10 from the Dolphins’ 23-yard line.
A touchdown on that drive would have tied the score at 14-14 just before halftime. Even a field goal would have kept the Patriots within easy striking distance. Instead, the Dolphins turned Ramsey’s pick into a field goal to take a 17-7 halftime lead, and New England trailed by a touchdown or more for the rest of the game.
Jones mostly stayed far away from Ramsey for the rest of the game.
The Patriots, who actually won the turnover battle Sunday thanks to two Tua Tagovailoa mistakes, are 0-6 this season when Jones throws an interception and 2-0 when he doesn’t.
Overall, this was a day of regression from New England’s offense, which couldn’t maintain the encouraging momentum it built during last week’s upset win over Buffalo. The Patriots went 1-for-9 on third down and finished with 218 yards of total offense, their second-lowest mark of the season and third-lowest of Jones’ tenure.
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3. The Patriots didn’t want to play JuJu Smith-Schuster
New England’s prized free agent addition was active for this game after missing the previous two with a concussion, but he did not see the field until both DeVante Parker (head) and Kendrick Bourne (knee) exited the game with injuries. Smith-Schuster played 18 snaps, all in the fourth quarter, and caught his lone target for a 3-yard touchdown.
The Patriots clearly and correctly prefer rookie Demario Douglas (41 snaps) as their primary slot option, but the fact that they didn’t give Smith-Schuster even occasional looks until they absolutely needed to underscored just how disastrous his signing has been. Smith-Schuster’s stats across six games for New England: 15 catches, 89 yards, one touchdown.
Tyquan Thornton, the Patriots’ second-round pick a year ago, was a healthy scratch for this game. If another team is willing to give up anything for Thornton, Smith-Schuster or Parker this week, New England should eagerly agree.
(UPDATE: Tests on Bourne’s injured knee reportedly revealed a torn ACL, meaning New England will be without their most productive receiver for the rest of the season. Even still, it should listen to offers for any other member of that position group outside of Douglas.)
4. The Patriots couldn’t stop Miami’s stars
Before Sunday, the Patriots were the NFL’s best team at limiting opponents’ No. 1 receivers, with a track record that included a near-silencing of Dolphins superstar Tyreek Hill in Week 2.
That trend did not continue. New England was torched by Miami’s No. 1 and 2 pass-catchers, with Hill and Jaylen Waddle combining for 15 catches for 233 yards and two big-play touchdowns in the win.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not shy about attacking cornerback J.C. Jackson, who was in coverage on Hill’s 42-yard touchdown and a 1-yard score to Cedrick Wilson. Jackson also was flagged for a ticky-tack pass interference penalty in the end zone immediately before Wilson’s TD.
Tagovailoa improved his career record against the Patriots to a perfect 6-0, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns with one interception (to Kyle Dugger in the first quarter) and one lost fumble.
The Patriots’ defense showed fight and forced those two turnovers, but they allowed too many chunk plays (nine of 15-plus yards) and couldn’t stop Miami on any of its three fourth-down attempts. The talent drain might finally be taking its toll on this unit, as New England played most of the game without three of its most important players in edge rusher Matthew Judon, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, who suffered a hamstring injury before halftime and did not return.
5. The officiating was a mess
The Dolphins were the more talented team Sunday and deserved to win, but Patriots fans have valid gripes with the way this game was called.
In addition to the aforementioned questionable PI on Jackson, officials also missed a clear helmet-to-helmet hit on Parker that should have given New England a first down. There also was the late whistle on a would-be forced fumble immediately before Waddle’s game-sealing fourth-quarter touchdown, and an uncalled tripping penalty against Ezekiel Elliott that Bill Belichick angrily called a “dangerous play.”
The Patriots finished with seven accepted penalties for 45 yards to Miami’s three for 25.