Patriots say there's no time to dwell on last-second loss to Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — As a group, the Patriots believe Sunday’s gut-punch of a loss to Miami won’t define them. Following the last-second defeat at the hands of the Dolphins, the feeling in the New England locker room was one of downright practicality. Yes, it was a loss. But we can't feel sorry for ourselves -- the Steelers loom next week.


“We get back to work. We get back to work,” said Tom Brady when asked what he might tell younger players how to move past this one. “If (Miami) didn't make that play at the end, we’d do the same thing.

“It's disappointing when we lose games. I think we all realize we could have done a better job in certain areas. I wish I could have done a better job on certain plays, but that's football. We’ll just get back to work this week and try to go beat Pittsburgh.”

“We’ve got to come in and go to work on Monday,” added center David Andrews. “That’s all we can do. We’ve got a big challenge this week with Pittsburgh. We’ve got to come in, go back to work and get this ship corrected.”

Late-season defeats in Miami have become commonplace for New England. The Patriots have lost five of their last six in South Florida, and four of those five have come in the final quarter of the regular-season. They have had some bad defeats, but none quite like the one they sustained on Sunday against the Dolphins — the last play of the game was the longest play from scrimmage to win a game with no time remaining in the fourth quarter since the 1970 merger.

If you’re a glass-is-half-full-type, special teams captain Matthew Slater suggests the loss gives the 2018 team a terrific chance.

“I think this is a great opportunity for us to show what we really have,” Slater said. “I think there are a lot of men in here who are grounded and rooted in the right things. They have the proper perspective on not only the season and this team and where they are in their careers, but life. And I think that’ll play a big role in us responding the right way this week.

“I think everybody is trying to process how the game ended. We’re all disappointed. We thought we played well enough to win, but tip your hat to them — they made a great play at the end of the game and we have to be able to process it, air out our grievances if there are any, and move forward. There’s no magic pill or secret recipe to move past it. It’s mental fortitude, it’s mental toughness. It’s character. And professionalism. That’s how you move forward.”

With three games remaining in the regular season, the Patriots will head to Pittsburgh next Sunday for a date with the Steelers. How they respond following Sunday's dramatic defeat could ultimately shape this season's legacy.

“I think, when things are going your way for a period of time, the season ebbs and flows, and when things are going great, you're feeling good,” said wide receiver Josh Gordon. “When all of a sudden they're not, it just depends on how you're going to bounce back. Being here, I think we've got a tough group of guys. We can handle it. We can bounce back. We're on to Pittsburgh now at this point. It's a tough way to leave Miami, but we're here now.

“For it to end that way, it just doesn't seem like that's the end result for us, like that's not the end of the story. We know we've got more to prove and more to offer. So going into next week, we hope we can get it done,” he added. “And I think we will.”