Miami Gardens, FL – The monkey is officially off the Patriots back after a massive 33-27 victory over the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
By now, you all know the trends. A five-game losing streak in Miami. 0-7 vs. Tua. 46-straight games scoring under 30 points (ends the longest active streak in the NFL): all of it came to an end on Sunday in the first win of the head coach Mike Vrabel era — man, does that feel good for these Patriots.
Along with the team finally slaying their Michael Myers (Tagovailoa), second-year QB Drake Maye has a signature win under his belt in a tough place to play for the boys in the North coming down to South Florida. Maye was magnificent, accumulating nearly as many touchdowns (3) as incompletions (4) against the Dolphins defense. He has a signature moment, a 55-yard completion to RB Rhamondre Stevenson followed by a six-yard touchdown scamper, and a complete game without any turnover-worthy plays to speak of on Sunday.
As much as we’re all flying high after the big win, the Patriots still have work to do to clean things up before Week 3. Although all that matters is the scoreboard, Tua still had plenty of success with 315 passing yards and two touchdowns. New England was also called for 12 penalties, including several pre-snap penalties offensively, and special teams was once again a mixed bag. Later this week, we’ll discuss the corrections. We also know that Miami has its own issues right now. Still, what stood out to Vrabel about the win was that the Patriots aren’t frontrunners, with a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown leading to a fourth-quarter comeback victory in a game that featured five lead changes.
“I’m just excited for these guys. I’m really excited that they could fight and compete, come on the road and be in a game and get off to a good start, not be frontrunners,” Vrabel said after the win. “We’re not frontrunners, and that’s big in this league.”
Here are nine takeaways as the Patriots head home with a massive first win of the Vrabel era to improve to 1-1 on the season.
1. Play of the Game I: RB Antonio Gibson’s 90-Yard Touchdown Return Wins It
In resilient fashion, the Patriots special teams followed up allowing a 74-yard punt return touchdown with a huge play of their own: a 90-yard return touchdown by Antonio Gibson on the ensuing kickoff.
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