Nothing went right for the Patriots on Sunday afternoon in South Beach.
New England didn’t stand a chance trying to stop Miami’s electrifying passing offense at Hard Rock Stadium. The Patriots also didn’t even flirt with turning the game into a shootout, as Drake Maye and company couldn’t get anything going in Week 12.
Desperate for a spark near the midway point of the third quarter, New England dug deep into its bag of tricks down 24-0. The Patriots tried to move the chains on a third-and-17 near midfield, where Drake Maye threw a backward pass to Kendrick Bourne, who tried to zip the football back to the other side of the field. Unfortunately for New England, the pigskin bounced by Rhamondre Stevenson’s feet and Jerod Mayo embarrassingly had to send out the punt team.
The humiliating effort might as well have been gold for Bill Simmons, who already was on Mayo’s case earlier in the game.
“This Patriots play is called ‘Let’s Pretend We’re Drunk.'” Simmons posted to X.
New England deserved any kind of criticism it received for its latest effort. Mayo’s group didn’t look prepared and the execution level was as bad as it’s been all season. After four straight competitive outings, Sunday’s game was a significant step back for the rebuilding Patriots.
Sunday presents an opportunity to gain back some morale, though, as the mediocre Indianapolis Colts will be at Gillette Stadium for a Week 13 tilt.
