Image courtesy of Orlando Sentinel 

FOXBOROUGH – What a difference six years makes.

Sunday marked six years to the day of Tom Brady’s last game in a Patriots uniform. Fast forward and it was quite a different feeling inside Gillette Stadium.

The Pats ran away from the Miami Dolphins in the second half of the regular season finale, rolling to a 38-10 win. New England locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs at 14-3 and waits to find out when they’ll be hosting the Chargers in a Wild Card round game next weekend in Foxborough.

“We got the right guys in the building at the right time, and we got good quarterback play,” Mike Vrabel sad postgame when asked how this stunning turnaround happened so quickly for the Pats. “We figured out how to not beat ourselves. I think we play to an identity, and guys make plays. That’s what happens. I’m excited for all those guys that — again, when you chase wins, usually the production comes along with it, so we need to focus on winning and the efforts that are going to help us win, and in turn you end up with all the plays that you’re going to need, and I think you saw that.”

It was an odd first half, but a 59-yard Andy Borregales field goal in the closing second sent the Pats to the locker room with a 17-10 lead. Six plays into the third quarter, Jaylinn Hawkins came up with an interception in the end zone and it turns out, that would start the snowball effect.

Moments later, Rhamondre Stevenson – who had one of his best games as a Patriot, finishing with 131 yards rushing on just seven carries with two touchdowns – hauled in a 15-yard touchdown catch from Drake Maye (14-18, 191 yards, 1 TD) after a 29-yard catch and run by Hunter Henry got the drive started. After a Dolphins punt, New England needed just four plays to make it 31-10 when Stevenson ripped off a 35-yard touchdown run. Another Miami three-and-out ensued and Maye capped off the third quarter with a toss to Stefon Diggs, locking up one of his $500,000 incentives.

That drive ended roughly three minutes into the fourth quarter when TreVeyon Henderson punched in a two-yard touchdown to make it 38-10, prompting party time inside the stadium as The Outfield’s ‘Your Love’ blasted.

“Well, you’d better be able to do that in the tournament, and you’d better be able to take care of the football,” Vrabel said when asked about establishing the run and the importance of it this time of year. “You’d better be able to create some turnovers, and you have to have efficient quarterback play. That’s no secret. And you’re going to have to execute in situations like we did at the end of the half, whether that be at the end of the half or the end of the game to get some points.

“But that’s what it comes down to.”

The game couldn’t have started any better for the Pats, with Henderson putting New England up early on a five-yard TD run, set up by a 56-yard scamper from Stevenson. Following Miami turnover on downs deep in Pats territory, the Patriots went up 14-0 on a two-yard TD for Stevenson out of a Wildcat look. That drive included a 3rd-&-6 scramble by Maye and a flea flicker for 35-yards to Efton Chism III.

Miami cut it to 14-7 early in the second quarter on a two-yard TD catch for Malik Washington. New England’s offense sputtered, punting, turning the ball over on downs and getting a field goal blocked its next three possessions, but the Dolphins offense couldn’t do much either. Jack Gibbens forced a fumble on one possession, recovered by Elijah Ponder.

The Dolphins did kick a field goal with 1:31 left in the half to cut it to 14-10, but a completion to Kayshon Boutte and a Maye scramble set up the 59-yard boot by Borregales before halftime.

Now, it’s a brand new season. One that Patriots fans got very comfortable being in for 20+ years. This is a completely new cast of characters set to experience postseason football for the first time.

But, the message remains the same. One day at a time.

“We’ll get ready and get rolling and try to do what we do every week, which is prepare and figure out who we have available and what we feel like the keys are going to be and try to practice and be ready to go,” Vrabel added. “That’s all we’ve done all year, and that’s all we’ll be able to do this week in the playoffs.”