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Dolphins vs Patriots Summary |  | ||||||||
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The Dolphins started the game on Sunday with the knowledge that a win would give them the AFC East division crown for the first time since 1994. They also started knowing that they have had trouble in late season games against the Patriots in Foxboro and that they had dropped their last 2 games. The pressure on the team must have been enormous. In the end, however, Miami overcame the weather, the fans, the officials, and, of course, the Patriots, to claim the AFC Division championship. In a close, hard-hitting game, the Dolphins came from behind to post a 27-24 win over the Patriots and gave themselves the opportunity to play their first playoff game in Miami next weekend. As I said earlier, the temperature at gametime was about 30 degrees F, with a 5-15 mph wind. The sun was out, but it definitely was not warm on the field at Foxboro stadium. Inactive for the game for the Dolphins were WR Leslie Shepherd, CB Terrence Shaw, TE Alonzo Mayes, C Jason Andersen, G Antonio Cesario, DE Rich Owens, and DT Earnet Grant. Mike Quinn was designated the emergency quarterback. The Dolphins received the opening kickoff, but from the start of the game, it looked like they would have trouble running the football and so went 3 and out on their first series. The Patriots immediately returned the favor, going 3 and out on their first series. However, when the Patriots punted the ball back to the Dolphins, Jeff Ogden initially mishandled the catch. He got his hands back on the ball quickly, and dashed up the right sideline, dodging some would-be tacklers on his way to a 56 yard punt return to the Patriots' 33 yard line. However, 3 runs by Lamar Smith netted the Dolphins only 5 yards and they ended up kicking a 47 yard field goal to take a quick 3-0 lead. On Miami's first two offensive series, the Patriots stacked 8 and 9 men at the line of scrimmage to stop the Dolphins' rushing attack and it worked very well. The Patriots would continue to stack the line of scrimmage for most of the game and they shut down Lamar Smith better than any other team this season. After Miami's first score, the Dolphins attempted an onsides kick that almost worked. However, the ball took a bounce toward the sidelines and went out of bounds before any of the Dolphins could recover it. This gave the ball to the Patriots at the Miami 49. On the kick, it appeared that both Jerry Wilson and Brian Walker could have made a play on the ball, as they were the closest players to it, but either they didn't see it or they were distracted and missed a chance to recover the ball. On the Patriots' first play from scrimmage at the Miami 49, Bledsoe dropped back to pass. Jason Taylor and Kenny Mixon broke through their blocks and sacked Bledsoe, who fumbled the football. Kenny Mixon then recovered the ball for an apparent Miami turnover. However, because of a holding penalty that was called on linebacker Robert Jones, not only did the Patriots retain the ball, but they got a first down and 5 yards. This would not be the first mistake of the game for the Dolphin defense that would cost them points. Following the penalty, Bledsoe took his team down to the Miami 1 yard line on a series of short passes to Troy Brown and Jerome Wiggins. From there, Anthony Carter plunged over for a short touchdown run that gave the Patriots a 7-3 lead. Following the Patriots' first touchdown, the Dolphins and New England traded short, ineffectual drives that took the game into the 2nd quarter. For their first drive of the 2nd quarter, Miami managed to move from their 2 to the Patriots' 45 on a pass interference penalty and several short passes to Gadsden and Martin. However, after Jay Fiedler went down hard on his non-throwing shoulder after scrambling for a first down, the Dolphins put Damon Huard in. Huard was fine, but the offense was unable to convert a 3rd and 1 at the Patriots' 45 and the Dolphins punted. New England started at their 17 but a dump pass to Kevin Faulk over the middle netted them 28 yards and Faulk carried for 3 more to the New England 45. From there, Bledsoe dropped back to pass and one of the Dolphins (either a linebacker or a safety) let Kevin Faulk swing out of the backfield to his left, completely uncovered. It was then relatively easy for Bledsoe to toss the ball to Faulk and for Faulk to carry the ball into the endzone for a 55 yard touchdown. It was the longest touchdown of the year against the Miami defense. That gave the Patriots a 14-3 lead mid-way through the 2nd quarter. Miami took the resulting kickoff at their 30, but could only squeeze about 20 yards out of the drive before they were forced to punt. This gave the Patriots the ball at their 20 with an 11 point lead. After Derrick Rodgers dropped Kevin Faulk for a 1 yard loss on first down, the Patriots attempted to set up a screen to their left. However, Jason Taylor read the screen setup and broke off his pass rush to drop back and cover Faulk. It was difficult for me to tell if Faulk bobbled the ball or if Jason Taylor just took it away from him, but either way, Jason Taylor ended up with the ball for an interception at the Patriots' 12 yard line. From there, it took the Dolphins 2 plays to move to the Patriots' 9. Now facing third and 7, Fiedler dropped straight back to pass. He had plenty of time and that allowed Hunter Goodwin to get behind the linebacker on his side straight down the field. Fiedler laid the ball perfectly over the linebacker's head into Goodwin's arms and Goodwin hauled the pass in for a touchdown. With the score now 14-10 in favor of the Patriots, the Dolphins kicked off and covered the kick well enough to pin the Patriots at their 19. After two incomplete passes and a sack by Lorenzo Bromell, the Patriots were forced to punt from their 18. The snap on the punt was a good snap, but it was bobbled by Patriots' punter Lee Johnson. The extra half-second that it took him to get a good grip on the ball gave Brock Marion time to get around the Patriots' left end and block the kick. The Dolphins recovered the ball at the Patriots' 9 yard line. After a 6 yard run by Lamar Smith and a pass interference penalty on Lawyer Milloy in the endzone, the Dolphins had a first and goal at the Patriots' 1. On the next play, Lamar Smith took the handoff and plowed through the middle of the line for a touchdown that gave the Dolphins a 17-14 lead with 2:06 remaining in the first half. The Patriots started at their 20 after a touchback on the kickoff and began to drive the length of the field with short passes to Troy Brown, Jerome Wiggins and JR Redmond. On two occasions on this drive, the Dolphins committed penalties on 3rd down that kept the drive alive after Miami had apparently stopped them. The drive ended with a 19 yard touchdown pass to Terry Glenn on a deep curl to the outside. That touchdown gave the lead back to the Patriots, by a score of 21-17 and was the last play of the first half. That play should have given the Patriots a boost going into the locker room, but the Patriots would not score another touchdown in the game. To start the 2nd half, the Patriots received the kickoff, but quickly went 3 and out. Following a short punt, the Dolphins took over at their 38 and completed passes to Gadsden, Martin and Weaver, but when Miami got to the Patriots' 21, somebody failed to pick up a blitzing cornerback and Jay Fiedler was sacked for an 8 yard loss. Miami then attempted a 47 yard field goal from the Patriots' 30, but the ball sailed just a bit to the right and the score remained 21-17. The Patriots took over from their 37 and moved to the Dolphins' 15 on passes to Troy Brown, Jerome Wiggins and JR Redmond, but Miami stopped the Patriots there and they settled for a field goal and a 24-17 lead. Following the kickoff, Miami put together a short drive, but was stopped at the Patriots' 35. They subsequently punted the ball which bounced into the endzone for a touchback. New England then started at their 20 and after a 1 yard loss by JR Redmond, Drew Bledsoe hit TE Jerome Wiggins with a perfect strike straight down the middle that looked like it would go for a huge gain, if not a touchdown. On the play, Wiggins had gotten behind Derrick Rodgers running straight up the field and Bledsoe had laid the ball in to Wiggins perfectly. However, Derrick Rodgers kept running after Wiggins and caught up to him at about the Miami 15. There, he grabbed Wiggins on the shoulder pads with his right hand and swatted up at the ball with is left hand. The football popped up out of Wiggins' grip and bounced towards the endzone, pursued hungrily by 3 Dolphins and 1 Patriot. Fortunately for Miami, it was Brock Marion who pounced on the ball in the endzone, recovering Wiggins' fumble. What might have been a touchdown for the Patriots turned into a fumble recovery for the Dolphins because of Derrick Rodgers' heads-up play. It was particularly dramatic because, on the play immediately before Wiggins' catch, Jason Taylor had been hit hard in the head and was down on the field. Rodgers had called out to Taylor, but Taylor was laying face down on the field and didn't respond. There was one particularly dramatic shot of Rodgers almost crying as the trainers attended to Taylor. Taylor eventually got up and walked off on his own power. He may have had a mild concussion, but he eventually got back into the game in the 4th quarter. Following the fumble, Miami started at their 20 and began a drive that would carry them into the 4th quarter. At this point, almost all of Miami's offense was based on Fiedler's passing attack as the Patriots were stuffing Miami's running game. On this drive, Fiedler hit Jed Weaver twice, Oronde Gadsden three times and Jeff Ogden once. He also scrambled for 17 yards. But when the drive stalled at the Patriots' 10, Olindo Mare' uncharacteristically missed a 28 yard field goal and Miami was still behind by the score of 24-17. The Patriots took over at their 20, but their attempts to run the football were stopped by Miami's defense and they were forced to punt. Now, with just 9:27 remaining in the game, the Dolphins started a drive at their 35. After two incompletions and a false start on Richmond Webb, the Dolphins faced a 3rd and 15. But on this play, when Jay Fiedler dropped back to pass, he found OJ McDuffie over the middle. McDuffie was only about 7 yards downfield when he caught the pass, but he twisted, darted and dove up the field to make the first down by about 3 inches. It was very good to see OJ McDuffie converting tough third downs again. The drive continued with passes to Jed Weaver, Oronde Gadsden, Deon Dyer and another 3rd down conversion by OJ McDuffie. Now facing a 2nd and 10 at the Patriots' 15, Jay Fiedler was flushed out of the pocket by the pass rush, but found Lamar Smith at about the 8 yard line. Smith turned and powered down to the 1, dragging tacklers, where Miami now had a first and goal with 4:15 left in the game. On the next play, Fiedler turned and handed off to Lamar Smith, who attacked the hole behind Richmond Webb. Patriots' linebacker Tedy Bruschi filled the hole, hitting Smith solidly at the 1 and driving him back, but Smith didn't go down. He cut to his left and after dodging a second tackle, was jumped on by Lawyer Milloy at about the 1 and a half. But that didn't slow down Smith either, and he carried Milloy into the endzone with him for a touchdown. It was the kind of run you'd expect from Mike Alstott on the highlight reels. There was no finesse in this run - just raw, brute strength, determination and a lot of balance. It was beautiful. With the score now tied at 24 and 4:09 remaining in the game, the Patriots geared up to put themselves in field goal range for a winning field goal. Following a short kickoff, the Patriots started at their 40 with a 22 yard pass to Troy Brown to the Miami 38. However, Bledsoe then went to Brown again and it was once too often. Robert Jones was covering Brown from the slot and as Bledsoe tried to the put the ball in Brown's hands on a short curl-in, Jones stuck his hand in the way and tipped the ball into the air. Behind Brown was Zach Thomas, who caught the ball for Miami's 2nd interception of the game. Now at the Miami 24 with 3:44 remaining, Jay Fiedler was given the chance to do something he hadn't done yet this year - win the game in the final minutes. Fiedler responded by conducting a 12 play, 45 yard drive to the New England 31. On this drive, he completed 6 of 8 passes and converted 3 third downs with passes to Autry Denson, OJ McDuffie and Oronde Gadsden. He showed poise and confidence and didn't make any serious mistakes, while threading the needle with a couple of his passes. At this point, the Dolphins made a little error in judgement that didn't affect the outcome of the game, but sure made the final 11 seconds wild. They called their final timeout with 15 seconds remaining on the clock to attempt a field goal. They probably should have let the clock run down to less than 5 seconds before calling the timeout. That would not have left any time for the Patriots to run even one play. However, with 4th down at the New England 31, Miami lined up for the field goal attempt. After missing 2 out of 3 field goals in the game, Olindo Mare' came in and nailed a 49 yard kick into the wind at Foxboro that gave Miami a 27-24 lead with 9 seconds remaining in the game. On the kickoff, Mare' kicked the ball short to prevent a runback and a Patriots' player fell on the ball at the Patriots' 40. Now, with 7 seconds left on the clock, the Patriots lined up to try a "Hail Mary" pass. Drew Bledsoe dropped back, the Dolphins only rushed 3 players and he tried to throw over the middle. But Jason Taylor had slipped around his block and hit Bledsoe's arm just as he threw. The ball hit a Patriots' offensive lineman in the back and bounced back towards Bledsoe. Bledsoe picked up the ball, perhaps thinking it was a fumble and began to scramble. He was then hit from behind and the ball popped up again, bouncing towards the sideline. There was a lot of scrambling for the ball, but when the ball was eventually jumped on by a Patriots' player and he was tagged down by one of the Dolphins, the clock had run down to zero. Also, because Bledsoe's pass had hit an offensive lineman, one of the referees threw a flag, calling an illegal forward pass penalty on Bledsoe. After conferring with the referee who threw the flag, head referee Johnny Grier announced that there was an offensive penalty on the Patriots and that the game was over. Both teams headed for the locker room and the fans began to leave the stadium, the Dolphins believing that they had won their first AFC East Division title since 1994. However, as we now know, that was not the actual end of the game. What happened next was a little fuzzy, but here is what I have been able to piece together.... The official in the replay booth believed (correctly, as it turned out) that Bledsoe should not be penalized for an illegal forward pass because his arm was hit as he threw and that it was, in fact, an incomplete pass. Because the ball hit the ground the first time with 3 seconds remaining on the clock, he believed that the Patriots were entitled to another play with 3 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, he had not been able to talk to Johnny Grier about this until after Grier had announced that the game was over. Once he did confer with Grier, Grier decided that, because it was a game with playoff implications, the teams should be called back on the field and told to run the final play. Grier then went to the Patriots' locker room and told them to get back on the field to run their final 3 seconds. Apparently, Belichick had some questions about this situation, but agreed to bring his troops back out on to the field. After visiting the Patriots, Grier went to the Dolphins' locker room and talked to Dave Wannstedt. Coach Wannstedt objected to going back out on to the field to run the final 3 seconds off the clock and apparently convinced Grier that it was unsafe, because the players had cooled down, had cut their tape off and were no longer in pads. Grier ultimately agreed with Coach Wannstedt and went back out on to the field to tell the Patriots that there were NOT going to run the final 3 seconds off the clock after all. The Patriots then went back to their locker room and proceeded to undress - again. At some point, the NFL's head of officials, Jerry Seamans (sp?) called the stadium to inquire as to what was going on. On hearing that they weren't going to play the final 3 seconds, Seamans intervened, telling Grier that they had to play the final time off the clock. So Grier, now thoroughly embarrassed, went back to the locker rooms again to tell both teams that they had to get back on to the field to play the final 3 seconds of the game. There is an unsubstantiated rumor that Grier had to threaten Dave Wannstedt with a forfeit to get him to agree, but both Grier and Wannstedt have denied this. So the Dolphin defense and the Patriots' offense threw on some pads and shoes and ran back on the field. The other players came out in towels and coats and stood on the sidelines as the Patriots lined up for one more chance at a "Hail Mary" pass. From their 40, the Patriots put in backup quarterback Michael Bishop, who had completed a "Hail Mary" pass earlier in the season. This pass, however, was a lame duck and fluttered harmlessly to the turf around the Dolphins' 25 yard line. And then the game was really over. It appeared for much of the game that the Dolphins were going to choke away another season finale and end up either backing into the playoffs again or not going at all. However, in an appropriate ending to this unusual season, the Dolphins kept fighting and came back at the end of the game to win the AFC East Division crown against a tough opponent in cold weather. This result was very different from the Dolphins we have seen over the past 10 years or so. Hopefully, the next several weeks will also be different from what us Dolphins fans are used to. There were a lot of good things about this game for the Dolphins, but the one thing that stood out for me was that the offense moved the ball successfully without benefit of a running game. The Patriots consistently put 8 or 9 defenders at the line of scrimmage and dared Jay Fiedler and Miami's passing game to beat them. And Fiedler came through, maintaining his poise in the pocket and not throwing any interceptions. He had a lot of help from the offensive line, who gave him excellent protection for most of the game and from Chan Gailey, who involved OJ McDuffie and the tight ends a lot more than they have been involved in any other game this year. That change of offensive strategy caught the Patriots somewhat unprepared and they didn't have an answer to Miami's passing attack, especially at the end of the game. One of the stats that improved this week due to the change was the third down conversion rate. Ordinarily, Miami only converts about 33% of their third down tries. On Sunday, however, Miami converted 8 of 17 third downs (47%). That is a significant improvement. On defense, the Dolphins completely shut down the Patriots' running attack, giving up only 37 yards rushing to New England at 1.8 ypc. Each of the defensive linemen contributed at least one stop for a loss or a sack before the linebackers even got involved. With pressure like that, the Patriots running game didn't have much of a chance. While the Dolphins' pass defense did make several serious mistakes, it also had it's big plays. Both interceptions were the result of heads-up play by the defense as well as the forced fumble that destroyed what should have been a huge play for the Patriots. The special teams had some great moments, also. Jeff Ogden's 56 yard punt return set up Miami's first score and Brock Marion's blocked field goal set up Miami's second touchdown. And while Olindo Mare' missed two field goals, he nailed the most important one from 49 yards into the wind. Coaching was not perfect, especially the clock management at the end of the game, but the gameplans worked well and Chan Gailey's use of Jed Weaver and OJ McDuffie at the end of the game was masterful. There were a lot of mistakes the Dolphins made that could have cost them the game. Defensive penalties, in particular, gave the Patriots' offense new life on two of their scoring drives. The defensive players must stop committing those penalties in crucial situations or they'll eventually put themselves in a hole they can't get out of. Also, there were several coverage errors. Most notable was the blown coverage on Kevin Faulk on his 52 yard touchdown. While I don't know for sure, I suspect that a safety was supposed to cover Faulk, since the linebackers were blitzing on that play. Regardless of who is at fault, the coaches must fix these problems for the playoffs. The running game was really poor this week, although that may be understandable against a Bill Belichick defense that is stacking the line of scrimmage to stop the run. Nevertheless, the Dolphins can't expect to get very far if they only average 45 yards per game rushing, which is what they did against the Patriots. And while I generally applaud Chan Gailey's gameplan on Sunday, his continued insistence on running the wide receiver screen that didn't work was a mystery to me. Jay Fiedler redeemed himself this week by leading the Dolphins to a comeback win in the 4th quarter against the Patriots. And he did it without benefit of a running game to support him. He completed 30 of 45 passes for 264 yards, with 1 touchdown and no interceptions and he did a good job scrambling when no one was open, picking up 22 yards on 2 carries. Overall, he played very well and has restored some confidence to the offense. Lamar Smith did not have a good game in most respects, gaining only 26 yards on 20 carries for a 1.3 ypc average. However, he did have two very impressive touchdown runs and he caught 2 passes for 21 yards. Autry Denson only rushed twice for -1 yards, but caught 2 passes for 11 yards, one of which was a third down conversion on the game-winning drive. JJ Johnson caught 1 pass for 8 yards and nearly caught another for a touchdown. Otherwise, he didn't do much in this game. Rob Konrad did not do as good a job blocking as he has in some other games and dropped a deep pass that would have been a big game. He was eventually taken out of the game with a back injury. The injury is not considered serious and he should be fine for the first playoff game. Deon Dyer substituted for Rob Konrad for much of the game, but also had some trouble with run blocking. He did, however, catch 2 passes for 14 yards, including one particularly impressive catch and run where he ran over 2 Patriots. Jed Weaver led all Miami receivers in yardage while catching 5 passes for 63 yards. Weaver had caught an occasional pass here and there during the season, but this was the most use that Miami has made of him this year. Also, Hunter Goodwin caught 2 passes, including an excellent touchdown catch. The inclusion of both Jed Weaver and Hunter Goodwin in Miami's passing game opens up a new dimension for the offense. Oronde Gadsden lead the team in receptions with 7 catches for 43 yards, but his longest grab was just 11 yards. He also dropped at least one pass he should have caught, but he received a lot of attention from the Patriots during the game and was sometimes double covered. OJ McDuffie made a dramatic reappearance in Miami's offensive scheme this week, contributing several important catches and converting at least 3 third downs. Overall, he caught 5 passes for 44 yards and was very important in Miami's final scoring drives. Tony Martin caught 4 passes for 44 yards, but dropped one easy catch. Even though he had a pretty good game, he still seems to be giving less than 100% effort in some cases. Jeff Ogden only caught one pass, but it was a 12 yard reception that kept a drive alive. He also had the 56 yard punt return that set up Miami's first score. The offensive line had a mixed game. In run blocking, they did very little, as they were unable to open holes and sustain blocks to allow Lamar Smith room to run. On the other hand, in pass blocking, they excelled for most of the game, limiting the pressure on Fiedler and allowing just 2 sacks. Derrick Rodgers led all defensive players with 9 total tackles, plus 3 special teams tackles and the forced fumble that made up for the fact that he lost Jerome Wiggins in coverage. Overall, it was one of Rodgers' better games. Brock Marion had 7 tackles and blocked the punt that led to a Miami touchdown. He also recovered the fumble in the endzone that Derrick Rodgers had forced. Zach Thomas was uncharacteristically third in number of tackles with 6, but he also had the interception at the end of the game that gave Miami the chance to win and he knocked down another pass. It's not clear how his ankle is still affecting him. Tim Bowens had 4 total tackles and did a great job stuffing the run. Brian Walker also had 4 total tackles, but seemed to miss the opportunity to recover the onsides kick in the first quarter. Daryl Gardener had 4 total tackles, all of which were for zero or minus yards. All of the defensive line did a great job stuffing the Patriots' running game, but he was especially noticeable. Kenny Mixon had 4 total tackles, 2 of which were for zero or minus yards. He also would have had a fumble recovery, if not for a penalty on Robert Jones. Lorenzo Bromell had 3 tackles and Miami's only official sack. The Dolphins have been using him a lot in passing situations and he's doing a good job putting pressure on the quarterback. Patrick Surtain had 2 tackles and knocked down a pass, although he was called for holding at one point in the game. Trent Gamble got a lot of time in the dime defense this week, registering two regular tackles to go along with his 2 special teams tackles. Jermaine Haley had 2 tackles, and did a good job in rotation with Tim Bowens. Robert Jones only had 1 tackle this week and committed the penalty that kept the Patriots' first scoring drive alive. However, he did tip the ball that Zach Thomas intercepted late in the game that gave the Dolphins the chance to win the game. Jerry Wilson had one tackle this week, but was beaten several times by Troy Brown. Sam Madison did not end up with any tackles this week, but is credited with one pass defensed. However, he was beaten by Terry Glenn for a touchdown at the end of the first half and committed a penalty on that drive to keep it alive. He had a poor game - by his standards. Oddly enough, Jason Taylor was not credited with any tackles this week, even though he was very active during the game. He did get one interception that set up Miami's first touchdown and knocked down 3 passes all together. Olindo Mare' hit only half his field goals, but nailed the final one that won the game for Miami. He did a good job on the kickoffs, putting 2 in the endzone. Matt Turk was wrestling with a tragedy in his family, but he still did a pretty good job punting the ball. Larry Izzo and Arturo Freeman each had a special teams tackle, while Twan Russell got two. Jason Taylor was knocked out at one point and may have suffered a mild concussion, but went back in at the end of the game. Jay Fiedler landed on his injured shoulder and came out for 3 plays, but eventually went back in and finished the game. Tim Bowens suffered an unknown injury and sat out for a few plays, but also reappeared in the 4th quarter. Rob Konrad suffered a strained back and sat out the second half. None of these injuries is considered serious and all the players should be available for the first playoff game on Saturday. It was a wild game and the ending certainly set new standards for the bizarre. The bottom line, however, is that this game was a triumph for Miami as they finished up this surprisingly successful season. I would have prefered a more decisive win for Miami this weekend, but I'll take this one. Breaking the December slide by winning their way into the playoffs was an important victory for the Dolphins. The team needs to know that they aren't the same Dolphins that have either snuck or slid into the playoffs the last 3 years, only to be eventually embarrassed out of the post-season. This game proved that they are different.
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