FOXBORO, Mass. -- The Patriots couldn't get back in the win column Sunday, suffering a heartbreaking 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
New England was begging to give the game away, and did just that with a slow and painful decline all the way to the bitter end. How did the hometown team fumble things away?
We'll tell you the story through some takeaways from an ugly afternoon in Foxboro, Mass.
COACHING DISASTERCLASS
The Patriots couldn't get out of their own way throughout the majority of the afternoon, making one mistake after the other -- mostly from the sidelines.
New England essentially gave a possession away in the first quarter when it was called for too many men on the field after forcing a punt and letting Miami restart its possession -- which is on Jeremy Springer. The Patriots then called a timeout before a crucial third down in the red zone in the second quarter, only to run the ball for a short gain and miss a chip-shot field goal -- which is on Jerod Mayo. It gets better, right? No, because after an 8-yard run to open their penultimate series of the first half, they chose to throw it twice from deep inside their own territory before punting the ball away -- which is on Alex Van Pelt.
DeMarcus Covington wasn't noticeable, which is the best thing you could say about the staff as a whole.
NEW COMBINATION, SAME RESULTS
Vederian Lowe, Michael Jordan, Nick Leverett, Mike Onwenu and Demontrey Jacobs made up a completely new offensive line combination Sunday, but the results were about the same as they've been.
New England gave up two sacks on the first two dropbacks of the game, while allowing Jacoby Brissett to get hit a total of nine times. Leverett, in particular, struggled throughout the game, giving up a sack, quarterback hit and hurry, while being called for a false start and holding all in the first four drives of the game. The rare quintuple-single!
KEEP BENCHING RHAMONDRE
Rhamondre Stevenson was technically benched Sunday, but it was one of those benchings where the coaching staff felt obligated to make a player sit for one series after a string of unlucky/sloppy plays.
New England can't complain, though, because it worked. Stevenson got three consecutive touches in the second offensive series of the game, taking the final one 33 yards to the end zone for an impressive touchdown. He finished with 89 rushing yards on 12 carries before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter, showing exactly what people expected to see coming into the season.
BRENDEN SCHOOLER FOR MVP
Brenden Schooler (essentially) blocked both a punt and a kick against the Dolphins, arriving so early on the latter that the kicker didn't even bother to swing his leg. The Patriots have been lucky to move from Matthew Slater to Schooler, with the entire special teams unit taking a major step forward in 2024.
WHAT IS AVP DOING?
Mayo has been adamant that he wants to lean into the run game, but it appears as though Van Pelt didn't get the message. The Patriots averaged 7.1 yards per carry through the first three quarters, but only ran the ball a total of 15 times in that stretch.
New England should never finish with more passing attempts than rushes, especially in a game where it was in full control early on.
WHAT IS A CATCH?
Ja'Lynn Polk appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes, but that ever-present catch rule came back to bite him. The Patriots rookie appeared to get his second foot down in the back of the end zone, but let his heel drop to eventually see the ruling of a touchdown be reversed.
Will we ever learn what a catch is?
