At halftime, the New England Patriots looked like they were going to fall to a 4-4 record at Hard Rock Stadium. Things changed dramatically in the second half.

The overall tempo shifted in the Patriots' favor after some mishaps from the Miami Dolphins, as well as three drives that led to three touchdowns, securing a 24-19 win and a trip back to Foxborough with a 5-3 record.

Once again, the Patriots entered another matchup with injuries plaguing their roster, and still, with the help of a quarterback who has hit a stride at the perfect time, the Patriots won, but there are still some notes to be addressed.

On the surface, it looks like this: the Patriots trailed the Dolphins 13-3 at halftime. In the second half, three great drives led the New England offense to outscore Miami 21-6. All three drives featured highlight-reel touchdowns from Kyle Williams, Drake Maye, and DeMario Douglas.

What is overlooked here is Rhamondre Stevenson being on point when the team needed him most. Stevenson may not be at the forefront among league-leading backs, but 19 carries for 82 yards led his team to victory.

Stevenson's impact wasn't just in volume; it was situational. On second-and-mid downs, he shortened yardage for Maye to exploit zone threats on third down. He also sealed the win on a critical third down with two minutes to go, getting a first down to thwart any chance of Miami getting the ball back late.

DeMario Douglas was technically the current WR1 on the field on Sunday. Due to injuries that have mounted up, the team needed big games out of him and second-year wideouts Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III.

Douglas capped off the day going 3 for 3 with 76 yards and a touchdown. New England repeatedly targeted Miami's secondary mismatches on vertical concepts off play-action rather than strictly relying on quick-game underneath passes.

Highlighting how motion opened up single-coverage looks for Douglas and Williams gives a clearer picture of the passing game's evolving vertical ceiling.

It looked like the Patriots pass rush was going to give Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis a tough evening; in the first quarter alone, the Patriots sacked him three times.

For the rest of the game, the Patriots' pass rush became nonexistent, mainly because the Dolphins offense pivoted to quick routes for Willis to find his guys underneath. Willis was known to hold the ball for anywhere between three and four seconds in past games but was dishing it out on quick passes and screens to throw the Patriots' big guys up front.

Another key factor is edge rusher Gabe Jacas leaving the game due to a knee injury in the third quarter. Still, more importantly, there is an argument that the Dolphins exploited voids in the Patriots' defense with short-area throws that could be costly to New England if they were playing far superior teams on paper.

Andy Borregales is currently 10/13 on field goals and 20/21 on extra points. His last missed field goal was in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his last missed extra point was against the New York Jets two weeks ago.

He's kicking field goals at a 76.9% rate and 95.2% on extra points. Compared to the league, Borregales ranks in the bottom third among his peers at the position.

You have to wonder, especially with a trade deadline looming, whether the Patriots' front office thinks they can do better at this position, given Borregales' multiple slip-ups in attempting to put points on the board at times when the Patriots needed them most this season.

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