Patriots Dominate Dolphins—Take AFC East Title

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Monday, December 15, 2014

Matt LaPan, Go Local Sports Reporter

For the first time this season the New England Patriots had a chance at redemption. The Patriots had a chance to avenge their 33-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins from Week 1. They also had a chance to clinch their team-record 6th consecutive AFC East division title. The Patriots mounted a 2nd half offensive assault to get redemption on the Dolphins and clinch another AFC East title by blowing-out the Dolphins 41-13.

Solid Defense, Struggling Offense

The Dolphins offense came out of the opening kick with a huge play over the top of the Patriots defense. Ryan Tannehill went right after the Patriots third cornerback, Malcolm Butler, with their top receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace ran right by Butler, and Tannehill hit him for a huge 50-yard gain on the first offensive play from scrimmage. The Patriots defense did settle down and force a 41-yard field goal attempt by Caleb Sturgis, but Jamie Collins pushed through the line to block the kick. Off the block, Kyle Arrington scooped the ball up and returned it 62 yards for the opening touchdown making the score 7-0, Patriots.

The Dolphins offense was able to continue their sustained pressure on the ensuing drive, but the Patriots defense was able to shut down Tannehill and the Dolphins again. The Patriots offense then took the field for the first time and it was the Julian Edelman show. Four of the first five plays of the drive went to Edelman, including the first completion of the drive which gave Tom Brady 4,500 career completions — making him just the 5th quarterback in NFL history do accomplish that. The drive was short-lived, however, as Jason Trusnik made a great read on a Brady attempt to Brandon LaFell to haul in an interception.

The Dolphins took the ball and were able to convert the turnover into points.Using a balanced attack of short passes and the read-option, the Dolphins went 60 yards in nine plays before being stopped inside the 10 yard line and getting a 24-yard field goal from Sturgis.

After a failed Patriots drive the Dolphins looked to take a lead from the Patriots. They were unable to do so however, as Ryan Tannehill made a deep overthrow to Brandon Gibson. The overthrow landed right in the arms of Duron Harmon for another Dolphins turnover. Harmon returned the ball 60 yards behind some nice blocking from Tavon Wilson. Just three plays later the Patriots pounded the ball into the end zone on a 3-yard Shane Vereen run to give the Patriots the 14-3 lead.

The Dolphins added a 53-yard Sturgis field goal on their next drive. 

The Patriots got the ball back shortly before the half and took a conservative approach to try and run the clock out. Joe Philbin decided that he was going to use his time outs to get the Dolphins the ball back after three Patriots runs. The Dolphins got great field position following a 32-yard Jarvis Landry punt return. While it seemed to be conventional knowledge to run the clock down and take a field goal before the half, the Dolphins had other ideas. On the next play Ryan Tannehill hit Mike Wallace over Malcolm Butler for a fantastic 32-yard touchdown. The play was initially called an incomplete pass, but review showed a touchdown. The late touchdown brought the Dolphins within a point at 14-13, Patriots.

The Dolphins outgunned the Patriots 271-101 in the half and out-possessed them by a 2-to-1 margin. Ryan Tannehill threw for 197 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the half while Tom Brady had just 85 yards passing with an interception. 

Second Half Surge

The Patriots offense came out of the half and started moving the ball well thanks to Rob Gronkowski as well as the Patriots ground game. Gronkowski hauled in the first play from scrimmage in the half for 34 yards. The reception put Gronkowski over 1,000 yards on the season — making him the first New England tight end to accomplish that feat. The Patriots then turned to the ground game with Jonas Gray. Gray rattled off a few good runs and hauled in an important pass. The biggest run of the drive came from the most unlikely source, however. Tom Brady took a 3-and-11 play for a 17-yard scamper to set the Patriots up for a LeGarrette Blount touchdown on the next play. The touchdown extended the Patriots lead to 21-13.

The Patriots stopped the Dolphins offense before getting the ball back. The next drive saw a historical moment as Stephen Gostkowski became the Patriots all-time leading scorer. Gostkowski hit a 35-yard field goal to move into first place on the all-time scoring list, getting his 1,160th points on the kick. Gostkowski got a huge ovation from the Gillette Stadium crowd on the ensuing kickoff.

The Patriots defense continued to show improvement in the 2nd half when they forced another Tannehill interception on the next Dolphins drive. Tannehill had his pass deflected by Brandon Browner and the ball went right to Patrick Chung for the interception.

The Patriots offense waisted no time to convert the turnover to points as Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a 27-yard touchdown. Brady delivered a near-perfect pass despite being under tremendous pressure from Dolphins defensive tackle Jared Odrick. The touchdown made the score 31-13, Patriots.

The Patriots were not done, however. They continued their 3rd Quarter assault on the very next drive. The Patriots needed just three plays to go 47 yards before scoring again. The touchdown went to Julian Edelman for six yards and opened the lead up to 38-13. The score carried the Patriots into the 4th quarter by outscoring the Dolphins 24-0 in the quarter — bettering the Dolphins 23-0 output in their Week 1 win over the Patriots in the 2nd half. The 24 points in the 3rd quarter set a franchise record for points in a quarter.

AFC East Champs

The Patriots added one more field goal from Stephen Gostkowski to give the Patriots the 41-13 win. The win gave the Patriots their 6th consecutive AFC East division title, their 12th in the Bill Belichick, Tom Brady era. Rob Ninkovich also recorded a sack in the 4th quarter to give him eight or more sacks in his 3rd consecutive season, making him the first Patriots player to do that since Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett did so from 1985-87.

The Patriots defense was dominant in the 2nd half. They allowed just 111 total yards in the 2nd half and held the Dolphins to 3-of-16 on 3rd downs for the game. They held the Dolphins to just 76 yards rushing for the game. Patrick Chung paced the defense with 10 tackles while Dont’a Hightower added eight and Chandler Jones added seven. The Patriots sacked Tannehill four times for a total of 38 yards lost.

Although the offense struggled in the 1st half, they rebounded extremely well. They were paced by Rob Gronkowski’s 96 yards receiving and one touchdown. Julian Edelman added 88 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots totaled 395 yards on offense, including 294 in the 2nd half.

Next Up

The Patriots will be back on the road this week when they travel to New York to take on the Jets. They will be back at Gillette Stadium on December, 28 to host the Bills in their season finale.

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