Rhamondre Stevenson continued to add to his solid half, piling up 55 yards on eight carries, while Maye worked the ball around to seven different receivers while going 12-for-14 for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Despite New England’s offense carrying the play and scoring on all three of their possessions, Miami made the most of their final possession of the half, executing another near-flawless drive, their second in a row after punting on their first possession of the game. It took just six plays to go 77 yards as Miami’s offense found its stride and started to shred the Patriots defense both through the air and on the ground.
Achane finished this drive off with a nifty 29-yard catch and run, on which multiple Patriots defenders couldn’t get him to the ground. Tyreek Hill also started to come alive with a 22-yard catch of his own on the drive.
The Patriots took a 15-14 lead into halftime, with neither defense on the field looking capable of keeping points off the scoreboard.
It appeared that Miami was going to regress back to their first possession performance out of the locker room in the third quarter, taking two holding penalties that put them into a 3rd-and-13 situation. But Tua continued his hot streak, launching a 47-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill that gave the drive new life. Penalties would again haunt Miami, with an illegal motion call backing them up once again into a long third down. This time, the Patriots defense got the stop, forcing a 40-yard field goal that still gave Miami their first lead of the game, and of the 2025 season, 17-15.
The Patriots offense responded to losing the lead with their first punt of the game, going three-and-out on their first possession of the second half in the face of a surging Dolphins offense. Bryce Baringer boomed a 71-yard punt to preserve some field position for the Patriots as Miami took back over for their second possession of the second half.
Tagovailoa stayed in rhythm on the next drive, delivering another explosive play, a 23-yard strike to Waddle that again moved the Dolphins into New England territory. He then converted a third down with a perfect pass to Tyreek Hill in the face of a New England blitz as the Patriots struggled to adjust and find a way to get a stop. Injuries began to mount for the Patriots on this drive, with rookie safety Craig Woodson, cornerback Carlton Davis and defensive tackle Christian Barmore all leaving the game late in the third quarter. All three would return to the game.
A Miami holding penalty was enough to help stunt the Dolphins progress, with K’Lavon Chaisson coming up with a needed third-down sack that forced a field goal attempt. The field goal was good, and Miami added to their lead, making it 20-15.
Things were looking bleak when the Patriots were facing a quick third down on their ensuing possession. Pressure came off the edge, but Maye stepped up, shrugged off the reach of the oncoming rusher and delivered a perfect downfield strike to Rhamondre Stevenson, who broke into the open field and delivered a 56-yard play, the longest of Maye’s career. Just two plays later, Maye took the ball into the end zone himself, then handed off to Stevenson for a successful two-point conversion. Just like that, the Patriots were back in front by a score of 23-20 as the third quarter wound down.