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Film Room: Why the Patriots Struggled vs the Dolphins and How They Can Improve

A late Patriots comeback attempt fell short for the second straight week. My take on what happened and how New England can improve.
Taylor KylesBy 8 Mins Read

Matt Judon opened his postgame press conference by saying “I know we lost. I know it looks bad. You’re [0-2]. You start [0-2]. But this is not a bad team…We’re going to speak matter of fact, but I don’t think we’re about to hang our head up here or in our locker room. When we come back and we watch this film, we’re gonna get our corrections corrected. Then we come back on Wednesday, it’s not gonna be, ‘How are y’all going to pull it together?”

The team certainly put good things on tape that might’ve been seen through a more optimistic lens had they mounted a late comeback. But with New England dropping its second straight close game against a good team, the corrections that need to be made are understandably and fairly where the focus lies. There are obvious things, like starting more quickly and not committing turnovers, but there are other areas that also deserve attention.

Here are my biggest takeaways after watching the film from last night’s game, as well as the Patriots’ outlook and how they can course correct.

Good News and Bad News on Downfield Passes

The hope entering Sunday’s game was that DeVante Parker’s return would spark the vertical passing game, and Kendrick Bourne would rebound from a tough 3rd & 12 drop against the Eagles. That wasn’t the case, as the offense’s big plays completely disappeared.

After registering seven explosive receptions (15+ yards) in Week 1,  Patriots receivers had none against the Dolphins. Mac Jones went 0-5 on deep attempts (20+ air yards), with four of those targets going to Kendrick Bourne, while the other was too long to Mike Gesicki on a scramble drill.

Only two of Bourne’s deep targets were catchable, but the passes in his area were big missed opportunities on drives that ended in turnovers. He’s flashed the ability to make astonishing grabs in his first two seasons with New England, but that potential has yet to manifest this season despite an increased role.

If Tyquan Thornton can crack the lineup when he returns from injured reserve, these are plays where the speedster’s ability to get behind defenses could be a difference-maker.

Demario Douglas’ explosiveness and route-running make him another fit on deeper concepts, but he must be more consistent after a fumble against the Eagles and moments in Week 1 where he and Mac Jones seemed to be on different pages.

Despite his modest stat line on intermediate throws, going 6-10 for 70 yards with a 1-1 touchdown-interception ratio, Jones was mostly excellent on passes that traveled 10-19 air yards. His biggest blunder of the night was an interception to Xavien Howard with the offense just outside the Red Zone, which seemed like a poor decision and poor execution from both the quarterback and receiver.

Parker is known for turning 50-50 balls to 80-20s in his favor, but he was dominated on the rep, and I didn’t love Jones targeting one of the league’s best press corners in that situation. That said, Jones locked in after his turnover, delivering tight-window throws under pressure while making multiple plays outside of structure.

JuJu Smith-Schuster made two tough catches with his quarterback on the move, with one setting up a Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown run. Hunter Henry also showed great awareness on what looked like a zone read to make himself available when the play broke down for a critical score.

While Jones’ playmaking stood out as a bright spot, New England needs more playmaking from its receiving corp. Parker getting more favorable matchups should help, but Bourne has to start turning potential and opportunities into results.

Line Play Limiting the Offense’s Ceiling

David Andrews was his usual reliable self, and Mike Onwenu looked good in his first game of the season, but other performances on the line left much to be desired.

Right tackle Calvin Anderson, who entered the summer as Trent Brown’s projected backup, had another tough outing after missing all of training camp with an undisclosed illness.

Andrew Van Ginkel gave him problems all night, resulting in a team-high four pressures allowed. These included a 4th quarter sack where Mac Jones couldn’t step up due to interior pressure and a near strip-sack earlier in the game on a quick loss despite chip help from Hunter Henry. Anderson also paid for over-aggressiveness as a run blocker and seemed to leave Jevon Holland unblocked on a 3rd & 1 that resulted in a four-yard loss.

To the veteran’s credit, he did have a key block on Rhamondre Stevenson’s touchdown run near the goal line.

Vederian Lowe and Cole Strange both allowed a sack and two hurries in their first action of the season.

Strange struggled to pick up blitzes and twists, which was also an issue for him last season. After giving up a tackle for loss where Zach Sieler quickly crossed his face, Strange allowed David Long to come untouched up the middle for consecutive negative plays.

Lowe lost the edge to Bradley Chubb twice in pass protection, with Chubb initiating a bull rush both times before ripping around the corner. Lowe was also caught lunging a few times as a run blocker, one of which resulted in Wilkins tossing him to the ground.

Atonio Mafi also gave up a sack to Christian Wilkins after coming in for Onwenu during the 4th quarter, but he was clean otherwise.

I hate to pick on Anderson because of what he’s overcome health-wise, but the tackle has been an undeniable liability in pass protection. He must be better moving forward as the most experienced player at the position outside of Brown, whose return should help shore up the left side. Strange was solid overall, especially after missing most of training camp and all of the preseason, but his identification issues are concerning, given his history, and will be an area to monitor.

Uneven Performance from Usually Stout Run Defense

The Dolphins’ receivers were understandably the main talking point this week, but their rushing attack ripped off some big runs against the Patriots’ usually stout defense. After allowing just one carry of 10+ yards to a running back in Week 1, New England allowed four against Miami’s backfield in addition to five missed tackles and a pair of scores.

Jahlani Tavai is a solid part-time edge defender, but he was exploited at times at the point of attack, with the most glaring example being the Dolphins’ first touchdown.

A combination of orbit motion and line action drew the defense right, opening up a cutback for Raheem Mostert. Marte Mapu couldn’t recover to make a play, tight end Durham Smythe did just enough to hold up Tavai, and Christian Gonzalez was too focused on Tyreek Hill to identify the run in time.

The second score was a near-backbreaker where Mostert sprinted untouched through the middle for 43 yards.

Right guard Robert Hunt did a great job washing out Daniel Ekuale before climbing to Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Kyle Dugger seemed to misread the play, which led to a poor angle as the last line of defense.

To New England’s credit, the defense held Miami’s run game in check for most of the night, registering stops on half of the offense’s carries. Bentley and Jabrill Peppers accounted for three stops each, while Myles Bryant had two of the defense’s four tackles for loss or no gain.

But moving forward, pursuit, tackling, and recognition must be more consistent, especially against a talented Jets rushing attack.

Patriots Pass Defense Continued to Dominate Deep, but Struggled with Unique Wrinkle

The Dolphins offense is one of the toughest in the league to defend, not just because of its speedy playmakers but because of ahead-of-the-curve coaching. Mike McDaniel does a great job scheming space for his players, with his wheel motion wrinkle being the most diabolical example.

This tactic forced a physical Patriots defense to give receivers space and play from depth, allowing the Dolphins to stay ahead of the chains and keep the opposition on their toes. Frankly, the defense never showed the ability to shut these throws down on their own, and that may be the case for the foreseeable future. But aside from a perfectly executed screen that went for big yardage, the Patriots did a solid job of minimizing yards after the catch against an explosive receiving corps.

Having to respect that speed resulted in New England giving up some completions on intermediate passes, but they held the Dolphins to three completions for 55 yards on six such attempts, thanks to largely competitive coverage.

The Patriots’ deep pass defense continued to dominate in Week 2, allowing just one of four attempts to be completed after pitching a shutout against Jalen Hurts.

Christian Gonzalez also got his hand on a pass, recording his first career interception in an impressive display of coordination and ball-tracking.

The Patriots weren’t perfect in coverage, but they held a passing attack that put up 17 explosive plays in Week 1 to just seven on Sunday night.

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Taylor Kyles is the lead NFL Analyst for CLNS Media covering players, schemes, and tendencies through a New England Patriots-centric lens.

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