Julian Edelman was one of the lone bright spots in the New England Patriots’ 33-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
That doesn’t mean he’s happy with the outcome.
Edelman picked up where he left off last season, leading the Patriots with 95 yards on six catches, including a game-high 44-yard reception in the second quarter to set up a touchdown.
The Patriots’ offense certainly started well, but as Edelman explained Monday on WEEI’s midday show, that all fell apart in the second half of New England’s season opener.
“They outplayed us in the second half, regardless of any position or of anyone,” Edelman said, via WEEI.com. “We didn’t execute. We had negative plays on first down. We were getting in third-and-long. Once you get in third-and-long with a team like that, they’ve got guys that can get after the passer. We kind of did things that we weren’t supposed to do when it came to that.”
The Patriots converted just 5 of 17 third-down opportunities for a 29 percent success rate, their lowest in a regular-season game since October. Edelman didn’t attribute one specific reason for the team’s offensive failures in the second half, insisting it failed to execute in all aspects of the game.
“Any time you can have those big, old defensive ends pin their ears back and go after the quarterback, it’s tough,” he said. “There’s plays where receivers didn’t get open, I didn’t get open, didn’t make a block, a throw here or there — everyone just didn’t play well in the second half. They flat-out outplayed us.”
Edelman and the Patriots will have to rebound next Sunday against a Minnesota Vikings team that thrashed the St. Louis Rams 34-6 in their season opener.
Photo via Brad Barr/USA TODAY Sports Images
