Image courtesy of Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photos
Was it pretty?
Absolutely not.
Do the Patriots have a lot to work on to beat the upper echelon teams in the NFL?
Of course.
Are they at least fun to watch again? Will the Pats get people emotionally invested, living and dying with every third down or two-minute drive throughout the fall and winter again?
Yup.
Given the way things have been around here for the last five-ish seasons or so, Sunday’s wild 33-27 win over Miami was huge if you want to see legitimate progress and care about the Patriots again.
This wasn’t about getting the organization’s first win on the road in Miami since 2019. This was about Mike Vrabel’s message getting through to the players early in his tenure when the team had its back against the wall.
You can say the same thing applied after the 2024 opener, but the difference here is that the Pats never faced any adversity in that first game against Cincinnati. Jerod Mayo even got a Gatorade/water shower for the win. They had time to enjoy it. Sunday’s first victory as Patriots head coach for Vrabel came with a whole lot of adversity and a pulse-pounding finish.
It’s good to have those types of days back again from the fan’s point of view. It’s been a while since a game brought that much emotion and stress upon hundreds of thousands of New Englanders.
“I felt like we were willing to get into a street fight,” said Vrabel. “We had a little lull and we didn’t pack it up and quit…I’m just excited for these guys. I’m really excited that they could, you know, fight and compete and come on the road, be in a game. Get off to a good start, not be front runners. Everything that we talked about.”
The biggest issue coming out of this one for Vrabel and his staff was the 12 penalties for 75 yards, something that will obviously be addressed.
“Offensively, the only thing that stopped us today was us. There were a lot of really good keys. The penalties on special teams…it’s going to be a lot easier to coach from a win. We’ll be able to coach them hard and make sure we’re able to fix the things that hurt us.”
If the Miracle in Miami, 1985 AFC Championship game, shootout between Bledsoe and Marino in ’94 and the Troy Brown game are the best in the history of this rivalry down in South Florida, this game is now firmly in the discussion for the top spot.
The Pats got off to an ideal start (aside from two Andy Borregales missed field goals) as Drake Maye (19-23, 230, 2 TD) led 10 and 11-play drives that both ended in touchdowns. The first was an eight-yard strike to Mack Hollins, the second was a 16-yard dime to Kayshon Boutte.
A Jaylen Waddle 18-yard touchdown brought Miami back within five early in the second, but Borregales hit a 22-yard field goal after another methodical 15-play drive, making it 15-7 with 1:56 left in the half. The Dolphins’ speed was on display on the ensuing drive and Miami quickly moved 73 yards in just 1:23. A De’Von Achane 29-yard touchdown catch from Tua trimmed the Pats’ lead to 15-14 at the half.
Two Dolphins field goals sandwiched around a Pats punt in the third quarter made it 20-15 with 3:37 to go. Maye then had his second biggest moment in his short Patriots career.
Facing 3rd-&-3 at the Pats’ 24, Maye slid up in the pocket with chaos all around his feet, firing a deep bullet down the right sideline. Rhamondre Stevenson reached up and plucked it in stride, then turned in a bit of a show with his juking ability, finally being tackled after a 55-yard gain. Following a 15-yard run by Antonio Gibson, Maye smoothly ran it in around the right side from six-yards out. A two-point run by Stevenson made it 23-20 heading to the fourth.
“Yeah, just trusting him. We throw those kind of routs all the time in practice,” said Maye. “I throw them to him after practice, working on catching it over the shoulder. I thought I overthrew it at first, then he made a great play. So, I thought he was going to score on it…I thought all three backs made a big impact today and those guys up front blocked hard.”
Things got a little nutty after that.
Miami gained 16-yards on five plays and quickly had to punt, but the Pats had six plays for -4 yards and returned the favor. This time, R Patterson took it to the house for a 74-yard touchdown, giving the Dolphins a 27-23 lead with 7:18 remaining.
The street fight Vrabel had talked about with his team was now a full blown brawl and he needed to see a response.
What Vrabel got was a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown from Gibson to immediately put New England back on top 30-27. Vrabel sprinted down the sideline practically alongside Gibson darted for the end zone.
“If he was keeping up with me, I need to run faster,” Gibson joked. “Coach was talking about a fight all week…we showed up and fought.”
Facing 4th-&-2 with 1:52 remaining, Vrabel planned on going for it before a Morgan Moses false start. Instead, his faith in Borregales despite the missed extra points was rewarding with a booming 53-yard field goal, pushing the lead to six with 117 seconds left.
The only problem there was that following a first down run by Stevenson, the Pats decided to throw on second down. After an incompletion, Maye hit Stefon Diggs for six yards, setting up the fourth down. Miami was able to save a second timeout, which almost came back to bite Vrabel.
Borregales had another huge miscue when the kickoff didn’t land in the ‘designated landing area,’ handing Miami the ball at the Phins’ 40. Completions of seven, nine and 18-yards for Tua immediately brought the Dolphins down to the Patriots 26. From there, Mike McDaniel’s team imploded.
False start, delay of game, incompletion, eight-yard pass and sack followed, setting up a final 4th-&12 at the New England 28 with 53 seconds left. The team’s biggest free agent signing Milton Williams sealed the deal with a sack.
“I think it’s just proof of what the work can result in,” Maye added when asked why this win means a lot. “It’s proof of why you work so hard, why you have extra meetings, why you get treatment on time, why you do the little things.
“You have proof now of the turnout and coming up in the win column. So, I think that’s why and just proud of these guys.”