Miami says Merry Christmas, New England

Miami says Merry Christmas, New England

Christmas is supposed to be the season of giving, right?

That must have been the problem with the New England Patriots. They were certainly in a giving mood Saturday at Gillette Stadium. But then again, so were the Miami Dolphins, who gave until it really hurt the most…in a 27-24 Patriots win.

The Patriots didn’t seem to have much sense of urgency in the early going, with Tom Brady falling victim to two quarterback sacks on the first two series’ of the game (Karlos Dansby and Jason Taylor). With starting tackle Matt Light inactive for the game and missing Sebastian Vollmer as well, the offensive line found itself under early pressure.

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After spotting the Dolphins an early 3-0 lead on their opening drive, thanks in part to a 40-yard completion from Matt Moore to Brian Hartline against the Pats’ secondary, Brady and the offense moved to the no-huddle offense in an effort to generate a little energy, if not momentum.

They got very little energy, unfortunately, as Miami seemed to have every route covered.

With their own momentum behind them, Moore and the Miami offense struck deep on the next series, 47 yards to Brandon Marshall, to the NE 21. Two plays later, Moore found Marshall again over the middle from 19 yards for a touchdown…and all of a sudden, the Patriots found themselves staring at a 10-0 deficit with 13:45 to play in the second quarter.

With the offense struggling to find its way, the Dolphins took advantage…thanks in part to a highly-debatable pass interference call against Devin McCourty that kept a drive alive. With alarming precision, Moore swiftly moved his offense into NE territory and on a 3rd and 3 play, interference was called against Rob Ninkovich on an option pass from Reggie Bush back to Moore. Three plays later, Moore found Charles Clay in the end zone for a score…to make it 17-0 Miami.

Which team was it, exactly, that just clinched the AFC East title?

With the offense continuing to look like its players had never met before, the Dolphins sailed into the locker room with a 17-0 lead – that could have been worse. Stephen Gostkowski missed on a 51-yard field goal attempt late in the quarter that was the best Patriot drive of the half. Halftime adjustments? How about a complete makeover?

The Patriots’ first half was that ugly.

“We went to the sideline and talked," Pats' defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said afterward. "We said we only needed one play to get it started as a team. All the while, we never gave up on one another and never said anything negative to one another. Going down 17-0 is a pretty big deficit but once again, this team showed its character."

On the opening drive of the second half, NE managed a 45 yard field goal from Gostkowski to get on the scoreboard. Even so, in running the hurry-up offense, the cylinders were still not firing off together. On Miami’s first possession, the Patriots got a break with Wilfork recovering a fumbled snap at the Dolphins’ 38. It took seven plays, but after an official review, Brady’s one-yard scoring pass to Deion Branch was approved…and New England was back in the game, trailing 17-10 with 7:10 to play in the 3rd quarter.

Forcing the Dolphins into a short punt set the Pats up in great position at the Miami 41 on their next possession. Staying with the no huddle behind Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Stevan Ridley, NE covered the distance in seven plays, getting Brady in on the one yard sneak to tie the score at 17, with 2:17 still to play in the third.

Into the 4th quarter with the score still tied at 17, McCourty stepped in front of a pass intended for Hartline at the 2 yard line, giving the Pats’ defense another turnover…and giving the offense another opportunity. Following a 36 yard completion from Brady to Welker at the Miami 14, a Randy Starks sack on Brady forced NE to kick a 42 yard field goal…giving the Patriots their first lead of the game at 20-17, with 8:55 left.

Finally playing with a lead, the New England defense stopped the Dolphins cold, with Jerod Mayo contributing a sack of Moore on a 3rd and 10 play. Setting up the offense on their own 41, a methodical drive covered the 59 yards in 11 plays, with Brady getting the final yard himself for the second time on the day. With 2:56 left, and 27 unanswered points up on the scoreboard, was it finally time for Miami to give of themselves on this holiday…whether intended or not?

Not quite. The Dolphins responded with a seven play, 80 yard march against soft coverage from the Patriots, with Moore finding Davone Bess from 15 yards out to give Miami a shot, trailing just 27-24. Deciding not to try an onside kick, the Dolphins instead kicked deep with 1:48 to play, and all of their time outs remaining. However, Brady found Welker for a third down completion to move the chains one more time, giving NE the win…and a much happier holiday.

"Well, it wasn’t our best effort of the season," Bill Belichick understated after all was said and done. "But we’ve got to give the players a lot of credit for coming back in the second half, down 17-0. They played a good enough half of football. Happy to win. Happy to win."

Post Game Notes

The Patriots’ offensive line woes worsened in the first half, with guard Logan Mankins going down with an apparent knee injury…on top of the inactive status of both Matt Light and Sebastian Vollmer…safety James Ihedigbo was injured in the 3rd quarter and was replaced by Matthew Slater. Ihedigbo did return…the Patriots have an NFL-best 41-5 record in the month of December since the 2001 season, including a 4-0 December record in 2011, and have won 11 straight games in December overall...the win was the largest come-from-behind win for the New England since overcoming a 27-6 third quarter and a 21-point deficit for a 33-30 win at Chicago on Nov. 10, 2002...Welker set the franchise record for most yards in a season after adding 138 yards against Miami to push his total to 1,518 yards. He surpassed Randy Moss who had 1,493 yards in 2007...Rob Gronkowski finished with 78 yards to move past TE Ben Coates (1,174) to set the franchise record for most receiving yards by a Patriots tight end with 1,219 so far in 2011...Brady passed for 304 yards to give him 4,897 for the season, a single-season career high. His previous best was 4,806 yards passing in 2007...with the win, the Patriots have also clinched a first-round bye in the upcoming AFC playoffs, and can clinch the overall #1 seed with a win next Sunday against Buffalo...

One-and-One:

Nitpick - It's becoming cliche, but the secondary's disturbing habit of giving up big plays on 3rd and long situations almost cost them in this one...

Superlative - Rookie running back Stevan Ridley ran hard in several situations, in picking up 64 rushing yards on just 13 carries...

Sneak Peek at Next Week - Buffalo:

There shouldn't be too much of a problem getting motivated for the Bills in the regular season finale for the Patriots on New Years' Day.  Not only can the Pats clinch the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs with a win, they have the added incentive of motivation through their 34-31 loss in Buffalo back in the third week of the season.  Buffalo won't be a pushover, however, as the Bills rolled over Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos this week 40-14...