It was great to see the Patriots put up some points in the 2nd half of a game. It was even better seeing them win a meaningful road game. Finally, it was great to see them embarrass a division rival on national TV, 41-14. It was a crazy game and it goes to show how much of an impact special teams can have on a game. Everybody Patrick Chung tonight!
Offense
Overall, I think the offense was efficient. Brady spread the ball well. I don't think he had to force any throws during the game. He only finished with about 150 passing yards but that was all the team needed.
The offensive line struggled a bit with Miami's pass rushers. I get a little jealous when what a great pass rusher can do for a team. The offensive line allowed a few sacks so they'll need to get that resolved quickly.
Once again, Moss was not the focal point of the offense and he was held catchless. He seemed to get consistently double-teamed so that opened up things underneath for the other receivers. I'm sure he's not happy being just a decoy and occasionally run-blocking. In fact, he whiffed badly on his defender on a screen pass on his side.
Welker still doesn't look as explosive as he was prior to his injury. However, he was elusive enough to get open and move the chains.
Woodhead scored his second TD in as many weeks. So far, he's impressed me as a replacement for some of what Faulk did. He seems to use his lack of size well to hide behind blockers and then burst through holes when they appear.
Defense
I have mixed feelings about the defense. Miami finished with over 400 yards of offense and Henne had over 300 yards passing. There didn't appear to be much of a pass rush. Time after time, the Patriots gave up long 3rd down conversions and seemed like they could not get off of the field. After Miami drove down the field easily on their first drive to score a TD, all I could think about was, "Oh no! Here it goes again!" But it seemed that after the first drive, the Patriots made some adjustments and limited the Dolphins to only 7 more points the rest of the way.
This game reminded me of the old, bend-but-don't-break defense of the dynasty years. It's kind of maddening to watch as other teams dink-and-dunk their way down the field but it is designed to prevent the long ball and quick scores. Since offenses have to run more plays to score TDs, it gives the defense more opportunities to make a big play such as an INT.
Speaking of INTs, the defense came away with 4 INTs with 2 of them coming from OLB Rob Ninkovich. Chung returned another one for a TD.
Mayo finished with 16 tackles so he seems to be returning to pre-injury form. However, most of the tackles seemed to come after long gains so that's something to keep an eye on. I'd like for him to diagnose the play sooner and aggressively go after the ball.
Special Teams
The special teams were just that, special. Gostkowski had a very solid game. He hit both of his early FG attempts. He also got great distance on his kickoffs and 5 out of 7 of them were touchbacks. This is huge because the opposing team can't score on kickoffs if they don't even have the opportunity to bring it out of the endzone.
Speaking of kickoffs, Tate scored another kickoff TD which is his second of the year. He's been close on a number of attempts and it was fun watching him break another one. It's great knowing that on any kickoff, he has the potential of instantly turning the tide of the game.
Last but not least, Patrick Chung was a beast! He blocked a punt which resulted in a TD. He later blocked a long FG attempt which was picked up by Arrington and returned for a TD. To round out his night, he also returned an INT for another TD.
Other Thoughts
The Patriots are now tied in the division with a 3-1 record heading into the bye. The Jets still hold the tie-breaker but the season is still young. The season only gets tougher from here on out so hopefully the defense can build off this win and continue to improve.
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