10 Key Takeaways from the New England Patriots’ Win Over the Miami Dolphins

It was a tale of two halves in Miami Gardens.

The New England Patriots (5-3) used a second-half surge to overcome the Miami Dolphins (1-6), 24-19, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday evening — flipping the script from a dormant opening 30 minutes to a dominant showing on both sides of the football to close. In the end, New England only needed one half of production to put Miami away, scoring three touchdowns in 11:44 of game time to re-write the story in a previous house of horrors and eliminate the nightmares of a 10-point halftime deficit on Halloween weekend.

Here are 10 key takeaways from the Patriots’ second-half comeback win over the Dolphins:

Drake Maye was once again the catalyst in victory — a signature staple of the New England offense on a weekly basis since the start of the 2025 season. The Patriots have gone as Maye has throughout 2026, and that identity has served them well when all else has failed.

It was a complacent start from New England as a whole to begin action in Miami on Sunday, but Maye quickly silenced any concerns with an offensive explosion through the third quarter and into the fourth. After gaining just 98 yards in the first half, Maye’s performance late was the deciding factor that swung the game’s result.

In half number one, Maye was efficient  — with seven completions on 10 attempts and 53 yards — despite facing constant pressure from the Dolphins’ front. That failed to sustain offensive production for the Patriots, however. Aside from an opening drive field goal, New England’s first half drive resulted in a lost fumble, punt, missed field goal, and a one-play, end-of-half sack.

In the second half, Maye turned up the dial; he completed nine of his 10 passing attempts with 146 yards, two passing touchdowns, and added another score with his legs, registering a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and an EPA/pass of +0.93 (per SūmerSports). 

After a quick three-and-out on the inaugural possession of the half, Maye led consecutive touchdown drives of five plays, 62 yards; 13 plays, 73 yards; and two plays, 53 yards to put the Patriots on top with a commanding 24-13 lead early in the fourth quarter. New England would be able to hold onto that lead for the remainder of the contest as Miami attempted to claw back.

By the game’s end, Maye accounted for 204 of the Patriots’ 313 total yards gained, completing 16-of-20 passes (80.0% completion percentage) with 199 yards, three total touchdowns, a passer rating of 141.5 and an EPA/play of +0.42.

In the win, Maye extended his streak of consecutive games with at least three total touchdowns to five, and has now held a passer rating of at least 100.0 in each of his last four outings. Both of Maye’s touchdown passes were at least 40 yards, marking the first time since Tom Brady in 2017 that a quarterback has thrown multiple 40-yard touchdown passes in a game for the franchise. In doing so, Maye also extended his NFL-best mark of 14 touchdown passes of at least 30-yards since the beginning of the 2025 regular season.

On a limited number of dropbacks and braving the effects of intermittent heavy rain throughout, Maye continued his recent efficiency and excellence in the Patriots’ win over the Dolphins. His highlights were some of the few in an otherwise forgettable offensive performance from an ever-thinning supporting cast around him.

One of the most closely monitored storylines entering Sunday’s game became an impactful factor when the action got underway: New England’s lack of depth along the perimeter.

With A.J. Brown out of commission for the fifth time this season, and both Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins on injured reserve, the Patriots entered game day with just three healthy wide receivers on the 53-man roster. Efton Chism III, DeMario Douglas, and Kyle Williams were joined by practice squad elevation and former Miami receiver Ryan Miller, who only played five offensive snaps.

As expected, New England’s response to a thin room of perimeter threats was to increase their usage of multiple tight end sets — and the results were there early.

Hunter Henry recorded three receptions for 30 yards in the first half, but his day was cut short — and the Patriots’ plan was altered — when he exited the game with a foot injury in the second quarter. Eli Raridon hauled in one catch for five yards early, but was targeted four times, dropped a pass late and was flagged for two false starts in his most extensive action as the team’s top option at tight end. 

Sans Henry, New England still used 12 personnel on 30.5% of their offensive snaps, 13 personnel at a 5.1% rate, and 22 personnel on 1.7% of plays (per SūmerSports). Tanner Arkin (16) and Cameron Latu (six) both saw playing time on offense, with Caleb Lomu (five) also aligning as a tackle-eligible in specialty packages.

In the second half, it was the Patriots’ receivers who provided a spark of life for the offense. Kyle Williams brought in his only target of the day on a 43-yard touchdown reception to draw New England within three points, and DeMario Douglas extended the team’s lead to 11 on a 48-yard touchdown reception.

For Williams, the third-quarter touchdown reception was the fifth of his career — each covering at least 30 yards. For Douglas, his score was his fourth on the season, setting a new career-best mark for touchdown receptions in a season. He led the team with 76 receiving yards on three receptions, and made a dent with each of them.

All three of Douglas’ catches came in the second half. The first came on a crossing route and turned a fumbled snap into a 26-yard gain; the next converted on a 4th-and-2 attempt later on the Patriots’ 13-play touchdown drive to take the lead. His final catch was the explosive, beating cornerback JuJu Brents on a comeback route near the sideline, then turning upfield and outracing a host of Dolphins secondary defenders to the end zone.

Efton Chism III led the team with five receptions, but only gained 37 yards and was responsible for another turnover by the Patriots’ offense — their 15th of the season. Chism had the ball punched out by rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez on New England’s second offensive possession of the game, setting Miami up at the Patriots’ 19-yard-line and gift-wrapping them three points to tie the contest early. Chism would atone for the mistake later with a gain of 12 on 4th-and-3, climbing the ladder to haul in a contested catch and position the team within field goal range.

There were highs and lows from a depleted supporting cast for Patriots’ pass-catchers on Sunday, but those second half successes were enough to put them over the top in this contest. New England will need steadier contributions against more capable opponents in the future if they are to continue their winning ways.

Whether it was a concerted effort to improve offensive balance or a script that was determined by weather conditions throughout, the Patriots were able to lean on Rhamondre Stevenson and the running game for key conversions all evening.

New England’s lone explosive rush — a 20-yard gain — came on Corey Kiner’s first carry, but Stevenson’s consistent ability to churn out four-yard chunks kept the Patriots’ offense on-schedule and in manageable downs and distances, especially during their second half comeback bid. 

Stevenson’s longest rush of the day was nine yards, yet he still finished the game with 19 carries, 82 yards, an average of 4.3 yards per carry, and a season-best 11 missed tackles forced — far surpassing his previous mark of five against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. He added three catches on as many targets, eight yards receiving, and completed the game with a team-high offensive grade of 90.6 (per PFF). 

In the win, Stevenson eclipsed 4,000 career rushing yards with the Patriots and became just the fourth New England running back to hit the mark in the franchise’s history, joining Sam Cunningham (5,453), Jim Nance (5,323) and Tony Collins (4,647) with 4,036 career rushing yards.

Maye was also a notable factor in the running game once again. He scored the Patriots’ only rushing touchdown of the game on a speed option with Stevenson, faking a pitch out to the running back and cutting upfield himself to walk into the end zone uncontested and give New England a 17-13 lead late in the third quarter. 

Aside from his touchdown rush, the Dolphins were able to keep Maye from breaking the game open with his elusiveness — a strength of their defensive front entering Week 8, as they had allowed just 61 yards on scrambles all season. Maye was held to five yards on eight carries (including three kneel downs at the end of the game), but his touchdown left the greatest lasting impression by the game’s end.

As a team, the Patriots gained 136 yards on 31 rushing attempts, averaging 3.6 yards per carry and scoring on Maye’s goal line keeper.

The pitfalls of New England’s offensive output in the first 30 minutes of play were due in large part to a shaky showing in the trenches. For the second straight week, the Patriots started Walter Rouse at left guard and Matt Pryor at right guard, and once again, that led to a high pressure rate allowed by the offensive line. 

Using many of the same tactics that New England saw in Chicago last week, Miami frequently crowded the box with additional bodies at the line of scrimmage to show a variety of pressure packages. Unlike the Bears, the Dolphins dropped most of those defenders into coverage, rather than bringing them into the pass-rush. 

Miami only blitzed once in the first half, yet pressured Maye on 57% of his dropbacks and registered two of their three sacks in the game. On Maye’s first sack, Rouse and Stevenson each failed to pick-up a looping Josh Uche on a defensive line stunt — ending the Patriots’ third drive of the first quarter on a failed 3rd-and-8 conversion attempt.

The Patriots made a significant change to begin the second half that paid dividends in creating a more stable pocket for Maye to navigate, pulling Rouse from the game in favor of Ben Brown. After missing Weeks 6 and 7 with a knee injury, Brown was active for Sunday but began the game on the sidelines before substituting in during the third quarter. On 12 pass blocking snaps, Brown allowed one pressure and registered a pass-blocking efficiency grade of 95.8 (per PFF).

Through the third and fourth quarters, the Dolphins were only able to generate pressure on four plays, yet increased their blitz-rate with six called five-or-more man rushes. Maye performed excellently against pressure once again, completing five-of-seven attempts (71.4%) with 109 yards, two touchdowns, a passer rating of 153.3, and an EPA/dropback of +0.39 (per SūmerSports). 

In his second start of the season, Pryor held up extraordinarily well in pass protection. On 60 total blocking snaps and 27 pass blocking snaps, Pryor allowed no pressures, recorded a pass-blocking efficiency grade of 100.0 and received team-high marks in pass-blocking grade (87.5, per PFF).

Will Campbell was another bright spot along the offensive line. He allowed just one pressure, registered a pass blocking efficiency grade of 98.1, and was a force in the running game with four impact blocks on the day (per SūmerSports). His 77.6 offensive grade trailed only Stevenson (90.6) and Dougas (78.5). 

Two bad snaps and two pressures allowed by Jared Wilson at center, and two pressures allowed by Morgan Moses put a damper on the outing for the Patriots’ usual starters, but their showing in the second half was far more encouraging overall. 

A hyper-efficient two-minute drill at the end of the first half and a scoring drive late in the fourth quarter skewed a respectable statline for Malik Willis in what was an otherwise dominant showing from New England’s defense.

On Miami’s end-of-half scoring drive, Willis completed six-of-eight passing attempts with 57 yards and a touchdown pass — beating Kevin Byard III on an outbreaking route to wide receiver Malik Washington in the low red zone. In the two-minute drill on the Dolphins final possession, he completed five-of-seven passes with 73 yards and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Coleman, when Charles Woods slipped in coverage. That score trimmed the Patriots’ lead to 24-19.

In total, Willis completed 21-of-32 attempts (65.6%) with 211 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 92.1, and an EPA/dropback of +0.09. Aside from those two scoring drives, Willis completed 10-of-17 passes (58.8%) with 81 yards, one interception, and a passer rating of 46.4.

New England was able to effectively force Willis and the Miami offense into a one-dimensional gameplan approach, even while leading on the scoreboard, and used an unrelenting pressure package to bring the heat once they had him locked into obvious passing situations. 

That may not show on the final box score, but his splits outside of the Dolphins’ two touchdown drives more accurately depict the level of play he maintained for large stretches of the game.

The Patriots defensive front was able to dictate the flow of action to the Miami offense early and often. New England racked up three sacks on the Dolphins first two drives — marking a string of at least three sacks in four consecutive games for the first time since 2019.

This Sunday, the pressure package looked much different for the Patriots than in recent outings. Entering Week 8, New England ranked fourth in the NFL in pressure rate (42.7%) and blitz rate (40.3%, per SūmerSports). Against a quarterback with the highest scramble rate (12.1%) in the league, they presented a varied approach. 

The Patriots blitzed Willis at just a 27.8% rate, but were still able to generate pressure on 41.7% of his total dropbacks. When under pressure, Willis completed 5-of-11 passes (45.5%) with 40 yards, one touchdown, one interception, five sacks, a passer rating of 47.5, and an EPA/play of -0.60. 

Early, it was Cory Durden and Gabe Jacas who starred along the defensive line with 1.5 sacks each. For Durden, his 1.5 sacks were the first of his career. He also added two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. Jacas was a disruptor in the backfield on several occasions, as well, adding two more quarterback hits to his total to go along with his three tackles and one tackle for loss.

New England’s pass rush also received key contributions from Christian Elliss and Jaylen Reed as blitzers. Elliss combined with Durden for a sack on the Dolphins’ first drive of the game, added two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, four hurries, and was the team’s highest graded rusher with a 91.1 pass-rushing grade (per PFF). Reed combined with Elijah Ponder on a sack in the second quarter — the first of his career.

Ollie Gordon II had been the driving force of a Miami offense that averaged over 160 rushing yards per game over the course of their last three contests, but the Patriots’ success on defense began with shutting the second-year running back down.

Gordon’s final statline — 19 rushes for 69 yards (3.6 yards per carry) — was boosted heavily with a long rush of 16 yards in the fourth quarter. Aside from that carry, his 18 rushes for 53 yards and 2.9 yards per carry were a major win for a New England defense that had previously struggled to finish tackles in open space and limit opposing rushers when it was necessary. 

Entering Sunday, the Patriots landed eighth in the NFL with 95.3 rushing yards against per game, but many of the underlying metrics told a different story. New England ranked in the lower-third in EPA/rush allowed (-0.03, 23rd) and rushing success rate against (45.3%, 27th), and their stuffed run rate was 31st in the league (per SūmerSports). 

For Gordon, he snapped a streak of four consecutive games with a rushing touchdown, and snapped at his coaches and teammates on the sideline after taking a hard hit from Robert Spillane in the second half. He entered action with 10 rushes of 10-plus yards on 72 total carries this season, but managed to log just one on the 16-harder in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

Gordon also ranked sixth in the NFL in yards before contact average (1.64 YBC/attempt), but managed just 0.71 yards before contact per attempt against the Patriots. As a team, the Dolphins rushed 23 times for 74 yards in the game, averaging 3.2 yards per carry with an EPA/rush of -0.24, a success rate of 30.4%, and failing to crack the end zone for the first time since Week 2.

A major win for the New England defense that went a long way in controlling the flow of the game. 

A great effort by the Patriots’ defensive front was paired with highs and lows in coverage.

On the positive side, New England showed great week-over-week improvements in their open-space tackling. After missing a season-high 17 tackles in Week 7 and eight tackles in Week 6, the Patriots limited that number to just two against Miami. 

New England’s linebackers also eliminated the middle of the field almost entirely for the Dolphins throughout the game. Robert Spillane was targeted three times in coverage, and allowed no receptions with two pass breakups. His final pass defense preceded a Zane Gonzalez missed field goal in the fourth quarter, rendering an 11-play, 45-yard drive without points for a trailing Miami squad late.

To negate the use of Willis’ legs (two rushes, zero rushing yards), the Patriots increased their use of zone coverages to over 70% and decreased their man-coverage rate to 24% after entering Sunday running man-to-man at the second-highest rate in the NFL (37.1%, per SūmerSports). Those zone looks are where Christian Gonzalez allowed his three receptions on five targets, but showed an impressive ability to rally and tackle at the catch point with only three yards allowed after the catch in the game.

New England also welcomed Carlton Davis III back from a neck injury that kept him sidelined since Week 5, but he was a frequent target of Willis and the Dolphins’ passing attack. Davis allowed seven receptions on eight targets and 48 yards receiving, while tying Elliss for the team-lead with nine tackles.

Charles Woods — Davis’ replacement to the field — only logged two defensive snaps. Prior to Sunday, he allowed 13 receptions on 23 targets, 125 yards, one touchdown, registered his first career interception, two pass breakups, and accounts for a passer rating against of just 68.2 on the season. Against Miami, he allowed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Coleman after slipping and falling on the route in the fourth quarter. It was the only time he was targeted.

Kevin Byard III also allowed a touchdown reception to Malik Washington in the first half, but got his revenge with his first interception as a Patriot at the beginning of the fourth quarter. DaQuan Jones tipped the pass high into the air when it bounced off of his helmet at the line of scrimmage, allowing Byard the time and space needed to run under the ball, secure the pick, and even the turnover margin. The interception was Byard’s 37th in his career, second-most among active players (Harrison Smith) and his first since leading the NFL with seven interceptions en-route to an All-Pro selection in 2025. 

Other Patriots also got their hands on the football, but were unable to generate any additional takeaways. Craig Woodson dropped a would-be tipped interception, while Elliss had one negated by a Dre’Mont Jones offsides on the Dolphins’ second drive of the fourth quarter.

It was another in a line of inconsistent showings from New England’s special teams on Sunday, as well.

Andy Borregales snuck his first field goal attempt just inside the right goal post, then missed a 40-yard attempt wide right in the second quarter. It was Borregales’ third miss of the season, each traveling wide right. He previously missed a 47-yard field goal in Week 2 and a 38-yard kick in Week 3, and sliced an extra point wide left in Week 6. Borregales also missed two extra points in the Patriots’ Week 2 game at Miami in 2025.

Kickoff coverage also became questionable at points against the Dolphins, as well. Jaylen Wright returned five kicks for 142 yards (28.4 yards per return), including a 43-yard scamper in the first quarter and a 36-yard return in the third quarter.

One bright spot for New England in the third phase of the game was on punt coverage. Mitch Wishnowsky — now the lone punter on the roster after Bryce Baringer’s release — downed two of his three punts inside the 20-yard-line. Rookie undrafted free agent Erick Hunter fell on the first to eliminate the potential of any bounce-back at the 11-yard line.

The Patriots’ special teams woes were equaled by Miami’s, especially in the kicking game. Zane Gonzalez hit the goal post on his 52-yard make in the second quarter, then missed the Miami-Dade county zip code on a shank wide-left in the fourth quarter.

Special teams were not-so special on Sunday evening in South Florida.

New England entered Sunday shorthanded offensively due to injury. They exited in even more dire straits.

Hunter Henry left in the second quarter with a foot injury, and while he did enter and exit the locker room at multiple points, he wasn’t able to retake the field. The veteran tight end came into the week as the team’s leader in receptions (26) and receiving yards (296), and ranked second in targets (30) and touchdown receptions (two). 

After an impactful first half, rookie edge rusher Gabe Jacas also left Sunday’s game due to a knee injury and was unable to return. Jacas matched his previous season total of 1.5 sacks in the first two quarters of play. For a brief period, Elijah Ponder was the only active edge rusher on the Patriots’ roster. Dre’Mont Jones was helped off the field with an undisclosed injury after Jacas had already left the contest, but returned on the next Dolphins offensive possession.

Already down numerous starters and key contributors, those latest injury situations will be a major factor moving forward if either player misses extended time.

A complacent start was negated by a dominant finish in New England’s second half comeback victory over Miami. In the face of adversity, Maye and the Patriots’ offense responded with an outpouring of scoring to swing the game late, paired with a pressure package that deviated from the norm in an attempt to contain a dangerous scrambling quarterback on the opposing sideline.

It may not have been the most consistent 60-minute showing for New England, but they did enough to win against an inferior division rival and extend their record against the AFC East to 3-0 on the season. More will be required of them soon, with a showdown against the Green Bay Packers (5-3) on deck.

What were your takeaways from the Patriots’ win over the Dolphins? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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