The first-place Pats handled Miami’s Wildcat offense and limited quarterback Chad Henne's offense to 334 net yards to improve to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the AFC East. Miami dropped to 3-5 on the year and 1-3 on the road.
Patriots 27, Dolphins 17
Nov. 8, 2009
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Headliner: Randy Moss grabbed five receptions for a game-high 147 yards and a touchdown to pace the Patriots offense. Moss now has five touchdown receptions this season and a team-high 712 yards and moved into a tie with Buffalo’s Terrell Owens for second place on the NFL's all-time list for receiving touchdowns, with 140. The touchdown catch put him over 100 yards for the day, marking his 63rd career game with 100-plus yards, also the second-highest total in NFL history.
Game Ball: Tom Brady completed 25-of-37 pass attempts (67.6 percent) for 332 yards and a touchdown for a 93.5 quarterback rating. Brady hit slot receiver Wes Welker for a game-high nine receptions.
Linebacker Jerod Mayo and safety Brandon McGowan each posted a team-most seven total tackles while Laurence Maroney paced the running game with 82 yards and a first-quarter touchdown.
Better Luck Next Week: Miami quarterback Chad Henne was held to just 19 completions and 219 yards in his first career battle with the Patriots. Henne finished with a 75.5 quarterback rating and was sacked twice for a combined loss of 19 yards.
Miami running backs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown were limited to just 81 combined rushing yards. Linebacker Joey Porter didn't do much to back up his smack-talk during the week as the veteran defender failed to find the stat sheet, finishing with zero tackles.
Key Moment: Trailing by a point with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter, Brady hit Moss for a 71-yard touchdown. Moss served cornerback Vontae Davis a jaw-shattering stiff arm, which freed him up to sprint downfield and into the end zone to give the Pats a five-point lead. Moss then snared Brady’s two-point conversion attempt out of the air to put the Pats up 24-17.
Scouting Report: New England’s road ahead doesn’t get any easier as the Patriots will be traveling to Indianapolis to take on Peyton Manning and the undefeated Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium next Sunday night.
The Colts have won their first eight games this season, including a slim 20-17 Week 9 victory over the Texans. In that win, Manning became the first quarterback to reach 40,000 passing yards in a decade.
Indy's defense has been banged up lately as cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Bob Sanders have been placed on injured reserve.