In the Patriots' first "real" matchups against division foes from New York and Miami (Tua Tagovailoa didn't start the first matchup), the Patriots fell behind a combined 45-0 before losing 24-3 and 34-15, respectively.
In eight quarters against the Jets and Dolphins, the Patriots allowed 58 points and scored one offensive touchdown. Even in the other Dolphins matchup, with Tyler Huntley starting at QB, the Patriots lost by 5 and put up just 10 points.
If you're looking for another reason to be less than impressed with Jerod Mayo and his coaching staff this season, it would be their debut against the AFC East, where only a 25-22 victory over the imploding Jets and interim coach Jeff Ullbrich — a comeback delivered by Jacoby Brissett, mind you — had shreds of positivity.
In the past two weeks, there have been 11 intradivisional games in the NFL. All of them, except Patriots-Dolphins, were decided by 10 points or fewer, and eight (73%) were by one score. The Browns (Steelers), Titans (Texans) and Cowboys (Commanders) all pulled upsets.
The Patriots, losers by 19 to Miami and it really wasn't even that close, were the outlier - and they also have a 21-point loss to the Jets.
That should not happen. Divisional games are routinely close affairs because the two teams know each other so well playing twice a season. The Patriots might have entirely new coaches on offense, but most of the defensive staff (not to mention players) returned - including Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
That makes the defensive performance in getting outscored 24-0 in the second quarter alone even more distressing.
When NFL coaching staffs begin to prepare for the upcoming season, they focus on two things: opponents in the first month (there's probably not going to be enough film to move you off your offseason gameplan, to a large extent), and divisional foes. For the Patriots this season, that would be 53% of the schedule since the Jets fell in Week 3. You could applaud the coaches for the work they did on the Bengals (win) and Seahawks (OT loss).
The rest of the work has been underwhelming, especially in the division.
The offense has its own issues (which you expect), but the Patriots' defense looked clueless against a Dolphins offense headed by Mike McDaniel that is now in its third season of facing New England. The Dolphins ran a league-high 94% motion against the Patriots — after the Rams routinely burned them with it the week before. If you see an offense pound motion against an opponent, it's because they think a) it will exploit communication problems in a shaky group, and b) not allow teams that prefer man coverage to get into it.
Check and double-check. Tua did most of his damage against the Patriots' zone coverage.
The other problem? The Patriots did absolutely nothing to make Tua uncomfortable. The book on the lefty is he loves to throw between the numbers and over the middle between 7 and 15 yards, and you have to take away his first read to mess up the timing of their offense. The Patriots did none of that, but it can be done. Back when the Jets' defense of Rex Ryan was routinely a pain in Tom Brady's backside, the Jets muddied the middle of the field and attempted to disrupt the timing to Wes Welker/Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. Rex was more successful than most.
A look at the issues as the Dolphins went up 31-0 on Sunday:
The first half was a trainwreck - as it was for Kyle Dugger, New England's $58 million safety - and it started on the very first play when Jonnu Smith came in motion and simply ran into the flat. It turned into 11 yards because Dugger stopped to cover Jaylen Waddle in the slot and left the flat completely open. It was not a complicated play. There wasn't three people running all over the place.
On the next drive, Tagovailoa hit Waddle for 24 yards against a soft zone because Dugger didn't get any depth on his drop. Where was the ball thrown? 13 yards beyond the line on the right hashmark. Next play: pass to Tyreek Hill for 10 yards in the middle of the field. The touchdown to Smith was thrown 2 yards in the middle of the field and it was a bust because Dugger had his eyes in the wrong place and didn't see Smith release after blocking.
Next drive, Smith catches a 13-yard pass right at the numbers as Dugger allows Smith to cross his face while watching Tua. Waddle catches a 17-yard pass against man coverage - 10 yards at the left hashmark - because Christian Elliss didn't get to his proper depth to help Marcus Jones. On 3rd and 9, Waddle catches a 14-yard pass right in the middle of the field. Christian Gonzalez had no middle help because Dugger was looking at other things. De'Von Achane scored his touchdown on a quick game (right down the numbers) because Jaylinn Hawkins, the backside safety, was trying to get Dugger to switch onto Achane (in motion). Dugger didn't hear him or switch, so Hawkins jumped into the frontside of the play. Hawkins wasn't in the cutback lane, and neither was Jahlani Tavai, who got caught up in the run action.
On the next drive, the Dolphins encounter a 3rd and 8 but convert on a Waddle 15-yard in-cut at the numbers between Brenden Schooler and Marcus Jones. The 19-yard pass to Waddle was just a great throw and (kind of) catch right at the sideline. One of the rare times they went outside the numbers, and it was shaky. Smith had another 14 yards on a zone route thrown 5 yards against Anfernee Jennings, of all people. Achane gets a walk-in touchdown when neither Eliss nor Dugger cover him out of the backfield.
Dolphins went up 31-0 on a simple 7-yard slant in the Cover 2 zone void at the numbers and Dugger couldn't make the tackle after he tried to disguise the coverage. Waddle was not deterred off the line.
Most of the damage done by the Dolphins was, you guessed it, between the numbers and 7 to 15 yards down the field and thrown perfectly in rhythm by Tua.
This was a surprise to no one. The emphasis for this game should have been on mudding the field of the field between 7 and 15 yards, and taking away Tua' first read. That never happened.
Not good enough.
Here are the positional ratings against the Dolphins:
OFFENSE
Quarterback (2 out of 5)
Obviously the two turnovers didn't help, but even with those Drake Maye graded out ok for me thanks to a second half in which he had 10.5 of his 12.5 plus plays. The first half was rough, thanks to too many penalties from the group but he missed throws to Rhamondre Stevenson and a big one to Pop Douglas on third down that could have gone for a while. ... Maye had several standout throws, including three to Kendrick Bourne, a 20-yarder to Douglas, the touchdown to Austin Hooper and a terrific throw to Hunter Henry that he could not hang onto. ... Maye's still inviting too much pressure (another 3.5 pressures, including a sack), and he's starting to drift in the pocket like he did at UNC. Anything beyond 10 yards from the line of scrimmage is on the QB and puts the tackles in a bad spot. That's happening more and more. ... Maye faced the most pressure he's seen since taking over as starter, but it's still way below what Brissett had to face in the five weeks. It was not untenable on Sunday, but the scoreboard and presnap penalties were.
Running backs (1.5 out of 5)
Stevenson has been great on blitz pickup this season but he really comes up short helping out the line when his player does not blitz. There's some dangerous situations where he could get involved and he doesn't see it. And he's not running the ball well, especially in zone blocking. When are we going to start to have the conversation that Antonio Gibson (who played one more snap than Stevenson) is, right now, more comfortable running in Van Pelt's scheme? It's showing up more and more.
Receivers (2 out of 5)
Demario Douglas continues to impress and his one-handed grab was just sensational. ... Kendrick Bourne continues to show up, but he and Javon Baker both had questionable routes. The trick play was just a disaster, especially with Stevenson not getting more depth so the angle was better. That was an absurdly difficult throw for anyone, even quarterbacks. ... Hunter Henry had another tough blocking game. Some of the protection help from Henry and Hooper was actually a detriment. Hooper whiffed inside on Chop Robinson once, with Demontrey Jacobs expecting outside help, and that led to a sack that didn't need to happen.
Offensive line (1 out of 5)
The penalties just can't happen, but Vederian Lowe only had two minus plays from me besides his three infractions (the third false start should have featured a snap by Ben Brown or tag by Mike Onwenu with the Dolphins in the natural zone - Lowe was late, but his head was in the right place, unlike some others. ... Yes, Demontrey Jacobs was a really rough go but he could have gotten some help from his offensive coordinator and teammates against Chop Robinson. It was a bad matchup (he had 10 of Miami's 28 pressures) and that should have been clear going in. Once again, not enough attention is being paid to solidifying the pass protection. ... I have no idea why Michael Jordan was released today (they claimed Lester Cotton from Miami, who has never impressed) other than there are only so many spots for linemen and they are staying focused on young players who could be here, especially with Cole Strange coming back. Between Strange, an improving Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson cross-training to left, they have options that will be here next year. ... Good efforts from Brown and Onwenu.
DEFENSE
Defensive line (4 out of 5)
The Patriots did a great job against the run and I'm putting most of the lack of pressure on the coverage not being good enough to make Tua hold the ball beyond his 2.21 average, which was his second-lowest this season. ... Anfernee Jennings had a penalty, a bad run gap and a missed tackle. Other than that, I thought they were very assignment-sure up front.
Linebackers (2.5 out of 5)
Jahlani Tavai had three excellent pass tackles, but contributed to the screen TD being late. The zone drops for the linebacker and safeties were not good, but I don't think they were coached well on it. They left Tua's hot zone open all day.
Secondary (2.5 out of 5)
This group had a chance to be solid in this game, but Kyle Dugger had a hand in all four touchdowns. Probably the worst game he's ever had, and I know he's battling an ankle injury. It wasn't about the physical play, it was about his eyes and focus, which have been issues throughout his career here. ... Marcus Jones doesn't make many mistakes, but he's just too small to be put on Jaylen Waddle. Why not Gonzalez (who played well) on him? Tyreek Hill hasn't done much this season, so that might have been a waste of resources. Is Jonathan Jones playing safety really wise? ... Marte Mapu impressed with his best game.
THREE UP
WR Demario Douglas: Getting him multiple touches has to continue to be a priority.
S Marte Mapu: Two pass breakups and a forced fumble with no mental errors. Nice game.
NT Davon Godchaux: Surprisingly, the Dolphins couldn't run at all and while everyone was responsible, the big man brought it back home.
THREE DOWN
RT Demontrey Jacobs (with an assist to Van Pelt): A rough day at the office against Robinson. We all knew that was coming, except for Van Pelt apparently.
S Kyle Dugger (with an assist from Covington/Mayo): The Dolphins seemed to be targeting him with their motion, but the plan to start this game was not good. Gave Tua a Yellow Brick Road to throw down the middle. Bad plan.
LT Vederian Lowe: Just for the penalties. He was solid otherwise. I think the Patriots need to double back on their cadence and silent count for road games. There's an issue. Lowe's a smart guy.