MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tom Brady had deservedly high praise for his offensive line Sunday after the New England Patriots’ 35-14 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Despite going against defensive linemen like Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake, Brady was hit just once behind his drastically improved offensive line.
“They’ve done an incredible job,” Brady said. “I think they’ve just — I can’t say enough good things about what they have accomplished as individuals, as players, and collectively as a unit. Marcus (Cannon) and Nate (Solder), and how great they’ve played and on a consistent basis. Shaq (Mason) and Joe (Thuney) and then Dave (Andrews) was kind of the ringleader. He just brings such great energy and enthusiasm and he’s had a great season. They’ve had a great year.
“They’ve had a great — (offensive line coach) Dante (Scarnecchia) is just the best coach, the best offensive line coach in the NFL. He does a great job with all of them. Ted (Karras) got some action. ‘Flems’ (Cameron Fleming) did a good job when he got in there. ‘L.A.’ (LaAdrian Waddle), he’s been ready to go, just hasn’t gotten the opportunity. It’s been great to see all of them contribute. The run game’s been great. (We’re) throwing the ball well so protecting the — protection’s been great so they’ve had a great season.”
Check out this week’s pass coverage, pass rush, pass protection and pass accuracy stats.
PASS COVERAGE
Logan Ryan: 7-11, 53 yards, INT
Patrick Chung: 2-2, 32 yards
Eric Rowe: 3-6, 27 yards
Kyle Van Noy: 1-2, 25 yards, TD
Devin McCourty: 4-4, 33 yards
Malcolm Butler: 2-2, 15 yards
Elandon Roberts: 1-1, 11 yards
Dont’a Hightower: 1-2, 8 yards, TD
Shea McClellin: 2-2, 6 yards
Rob Ninkovich: 1-2, 4 yards
Alan Branch: PBU
— Ryan’s interception drags his season passer rating against down to 75.4. That’s impressive for a cornerback.
— Rowe started slow and gave up all three of his receptions in the first 31 minutes of the game before settling down in the second half.
— Van Noy continues to struggle in coverage. He was a step behind running back Damien Williams on his incompletion.
PASS RUSH
Trey Flowers: two QB hits, two hurries (four pressures)
Chris Long: four hurries (four pressures)
Jabaal Sheard: QB hit, hurry (two pressures)
Rob Ninkovich: QB hit, hurry (two pressures)
Dont’a Hightower: QB hit, hurry (two pressures)
Elandon Roberts: QB hit
Vincent Valentine: hurry
Kyle Van Noy: hurry
Shea McClellin: hurry
— The Patriots didn’t record any sacks, but they pressured Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore.
— A quarterback hit by Jabaal Sheard forced Moore’s interception to Ryan.
— Long, as he’s done all year, brought consistent pressure but didn’t finish for sacks.
PASS PROTECTION
Shaq Mason: three hurries (three pressures)
Joe Thuney: two hurries (two pressures)
Marcus Cannon: QB hit
David Andrews: hurry
James White: hurry
— The Patriots did a fantastic job protecting Tom Brady against a dangerous defensive line.
— The Patriots didn’t allow any sacks, and the only QB hit was allowed by Cannon to Cameron Wake.
— Left tackle Nate Solder didn’t allow a single pressure.
TOM BRADY’S ACCURACY
1. Thrown high to Julian Edelman
2. Broken up on target to Edelman
3. Thrown in front of Matt Lengel
4. Thrown wide of Edelman
5. Grounded to Martellus Bennett
6. Batted at the line to Michael Floyd
7. Thrown out in front of Bennett
8. Batted at the line to Edelman
— The Patriots didn’t commit any drops.
— Five of Brady’s incompletions were inaccurate, while three were touched by Dolphins defenders.
— Brady completed 75.8 percent of his passes without Malcolm Mitchell, Danny Amendola or Rob Gronkowski. It was one of his better games of the season from an accuracy standpoint. Brady kept most of his passes short to intermediate. He attempted just two deep passes and was 0-of-2.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
