FOXBORO A lot of things happened at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and none of it was good. The New England Patriots limped their way to a 15-10 loss against an underwhelming Miami Dolphins team. The loss moves the Patriots to 1-4, following a crushing loss to the San Francisco 49ers with arguably their worst loss of the season against a Dolphins team that has struggled itself over the past few weeks.
Usually, you’d be able to see the silver lining in a one-possession loss. The Patriots had a chance in the end, and could’ve won the game. But is that something to feel good about? I say no.
The Patriots showed life on offense in the first quarter with a 33-yard rushing touchdown from Rhamondre Stevenson, capitalizing on a Christian Gonzalez interception with a four-play drive that ended with a score. Stevenson had lost the job earlier in the week to Antonio Gibson due to fumbling issues, but was involved on the short drive with a reception and a run to give New England the lead with a little over the minutes to go in the first quarter. After both sides exchanged punts, a block of a Jake Bailey punt by Brenden Schooler gave the Patriots another chance with short yardage, getting the ball on the 23-yard line.
The blocked punt was one of the first signs of this game going off the rails as the Patriots followed up with a drive that resulted in no points, despite starting from well inside Dolphins territory as it was backed up by a penalty and then missing a 33-yard Joey .
