Let's wrap up this regular season quickly as we move on to more important things: a Sunday night playoff game against the Chargers.
My biggest takeaway from the season finale is that it appears Mike Vrabel has his players peaking at the right time, as their strong run of play continued against the Dolphins, even with a bit of a nap in the second quarter.
Yes, it was against a spunky Dolphins team looking to finish off their season — and I don't think some of their defenders wanted to be there — but, across the board, I have a hard time taking issue with much of the Patriots' play.
Drake Maye had a little bit of a rough stretch in the first half where he failed to see open receivers, but he was flawless in the second half to post another high grade.
The running backs, led by Rhamondre Stevenson, were outstanding.
The offensive line continued to play well, and once he knocked off a little rust, Will Campbell caught back up the group, and added some thump in the running game.
Not a heavy workload for the receivers in this one, especially Stefon Diggs (I think that was by design), but solid play all around, especially Efton Chism, Austin Hooper and Kyle Williams in the run game.
The defensive line was a little leaky in the run game, but that was about Mike McDaniel's awesome scheme, which is tough to prepare for, given all their speed. The Patriots actually got 50% pressure in this game thanks to plenty of blitzes (again), and wound up with a respectable stuff rate. Milton Williams knocked off some of his rust, even if he didn't look 100% on film.
The linebackers were all impactful and caused two fumbles, and Jack Gibbens nearly added an interception.
And the secondary was solid outside Carlton Davis (a concern) and Craig Woodson (tackling).
That's how you want to finish things off. The Patriots are ready for the postseason.
Here are the positional ratings against the Dolphins:
OFFENSE
Quarterback (4 out of 5)
Maye was in command throughout this game, and added two elite plays: the 3rd and 6 scramble when he avoided two would-be sackers, and the on-the-run throw to Diggs after eluding pressure. ... He does have some stretches where he doesn't