Yes, the Dolphins lost by 27 points. No, they are not far behind the Patriots.
A quick glance at Monday night's loss to the Patriots makes the Dolphins look like a team in shambles – they gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, a blocked field goal for a touchdown, a blocked punt that led to a touchdown and three interceptions by Chad Henne, one of which went for a touchdown.
But behind the miscues lie a lot of positives for the Dolphins. If you believe in silver linings, then Monday night's beatdown morphs into Monday night's mulligan. When the Dolphins play the Patriots in Foxboro, the tides could easily turn.
On the game’s first possession, the Dolphins moved the ball with ease to the Patriots’ 36-yard-line. Henne completed a big third down to tight end Anthony Fasano, and he accurately hit check-downs to his running back. Then, on third-and-6, needing just a yard or two to justify a field goal attempt, the Dolphins inexplicably lined up in the Wildcat and lost two yards, forcing them to punt. The Wildcat has its place, but it’s too gimmicky and hasn’t had enough success of late to be used for a big third down. The Dolphins hurt their chances of scoring on that drive, and since coach Tony Sparano stayed away from the formation the rest of the game, he clearly learned his lesson.
After forcing the Pats to go three and out on the ensuing possession, the Dolphins marched down the field again. Ricky Williams ran well and Henne converted another big third down, tossing a 19-yard catch-and-run to Devone Bess for a touchdown.
Though the momentum swung in the Patriots’ favor after Henne threw an interception to Rob Ninkovich and the Patriots drove down to the Dolphins’ 9-yard-line, the Miami defense held strong and forced a field goal. Breakout star Cameron Wake registered a huge sack on Brady that helped keep a touchdown off the board, and the Dolphins still kept the lead.
The Dolphins then marched with a balances attack until Henne threw another interception to Ninkovich. Give credit to Ninkovich for making both plays, but a little more awareness and experience from Henne would prevent those ill-advised throws.
The Patriots used the interception to their advantage again and drove to the Dolphins’ 12, where they were stalled and settled for a field goal as the half expired. At that point, the Dolphins led 7-6 at half, moved the ball with ease, and stopped the Patriots in the red zone twice. They looked like a good football team that had a legitimate chance to win the game.
Then in the second half, special teams began unraveling. Still, the Dolphins rebounded. Henne marched the Fins downfield and threw a touchdown pass to Williams to narrow the gap to 20-14. The Dolphins did not roll over and die.
Another Patriots touchdown put the Dolphins in a 27-14 hole, and they attempted a long field goal (once again driving into scoring range) which was blocked and returned for a touchdown. The Dolphins couldn't convert a fourth down on their next possession, but their defense forced another three-and-out, preventing Tom Brady from having his usual fourth quarter, clock-killing, lead-protecting drive.
The final score came on an interception by Chung, but it only occurred because of a miscommunication between Marshall and Henne. With a little more communication and rapport between Marshall and Henne, they won’t make the same mistake.
When looking at the possessions in this game, it’s hard to believe how badly the Dolphins lost. They moved the ball extremely well with over 400 yards on offense, with only about 81 of them coming during garbage time.
A few mistakes by Henne, a couple coaching errors and special teams breakdowns caused the Dolphins to fall. The Patriots did their part, but the Dolphins should realize that they gave the Patriots a real test. Look for the Dolphins to stay in the playoff hunt the rest of the season.
