Quick thoughts from South Florida Sun Sentinel staffers on the Dolphins’ loss to the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium as Miami falls to 1-6.
Chris Perkins, Dolphins Columnist
The Dolphins held on for as long as they could but the better team won Sunday. Patriots QB Drake Maye crushed the Dolphins in the second half and Miami’s run game, No. 7 in the league entering this week’s games, never got anything going against New England’s run defense, which was No. 8. The Dolphins needed a pass rush in the second half and it never materialized. The secondary also needed to make a play but it couldn’t get the job done.
David Furones, Dolphins Writer
It looked like the Dolphins could continue to roll with the momentum established in last week’s first win against the Jets. The defending AFC-champion Patriots were a different animal, though. Miami put together a really nice first half, but Drake Maye picked the secondary apart in the second half, and it snowballed into 21 unanswered points.
Steve Svekis, Assistant Sports Editor
The Dolphins had a second straight shaky second half after leading at the intermission, and while they were able to stave off the Jets last week, the Patriots just had too much quality for Miami to recede so significantly. Still, progress with an ultra-young team needs to be measured incrementally, and the rookies (Jacob Rodriguez, Caleb Douglas, Kevin Coleman) and other youngsters flashed with some plays yet again.
Keven Lerner, Assistant Sports Editor
Drake Maye found his groove in the second half and sort of left the Dolphins in his dust, or, mud as the case was. Still, the Dolphins had their moments. There is evident growth in areas each week.