Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Gutting Loss To Dolphins

FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk had a crunch-time touchdown reception overturned and it helped the Miami Dolphins secure a 15-10 victory at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

New England’s offense twice was set up inside Miami territory after a blocked punt and interception. However, the Patriots scored just seven points on those opportunities.

Miami improved to 2-3 while New England dropped to 1-4.

Here are three studs and three duds from Patriots-Dolphins:

STUDS
Brenden Schooler, ST
The Patriots standout special-teamer was arguably the most noticeable player on the field. Schooler blocked a Jake Bailey with 10:31 left in the first half. It set New England’s offense up at Miami’s 23-yard line, but the Patriots were unable to turn it into any points. Schooler wrecked another special teams snap as he raced off the edge on a field goal attempt. With a bad snap and Schooler’s presence complementing one another, the ‘Fins failed to even get the kick off.

Christian Gonzalez, CB
The lockdown cornerback recorded his first interception of the season, which set up the New England offense at the Miami 43-yard line. The Patriots took a 7-3 lead four plays later. Gonzalez nearly had a second interception when in coverage of Dolphins star wideout Tyreek Hill in the third quarter. Hill ripped it out of Gonzalez’s hands, but Gonzalez then forced an incompletion to Hill on the next play. Through three quarters, Gonzalez allowed four receptions on 10 targets for 66 yards, per Pro Football Focus.

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB
Stevenson was benched to start the game due to his fumbling woes the previous four weeks. But it was clear he wanted to put that behind him from the moment he stepped on the field. Stevenson earned a hard-fought first down reception on his second snap and followed it up with a 33-yard touchdown run on his third — New England’s second possession of the contest. He totaled 12 carries for 88 yards with one touchdown.

Honorable mention: Mike Onwenu, RG; DeMario Douglas, WR

DUDS
Coaching
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt combined for a handful of questionable decisions, but nothing was worse than the end-of-half showing. With the Patriots backed up at their own 5-yard line, Stevenson took a handoff eight yards. Van Pelt then opted for consecutive passing plays and punted the ball back to the Dolphins. New England was very lucky Miami didn’t turn its favorable field position into points — much like the Seattle Seahawks did in Week 2. While the play-calling was on Van Pelt, Mayo surely should have stepped in and tried to run out the clock. The Patriots ran 18 pass plays compared to 15 run plays through three quarters when they were playing with the lead.

Nick Leverett, C
Leverett stepped in with starting center, and captain David Andrews was placed on injured reserve. It was a tough first start for Leverett. Leverett gave up eight pressures (five hurries, two quarterback hits, sack). No other offensive linemen allowed more than one, per PFF. Leverett also was flagged for a hold and drive-altering false start, which changed a third-and-1 to third-and-6.

Hunter Henry, TE
The veteran tight end was whistled for a pair of drive-altering penalties on New England’s crunch-time offensive possession. His illegal formation penalty on first down with 2:04 left in regulation further set the offense behind the chains. Henry was limited to just one reception for seven yards before catching a last-second heave from Jacoby Brissett.

Honorable mention: Keion White, DE