Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots Week 5 Instant Takeaways

What stood out in the Miami Dolphins’ Week 5 game against the New England Patriots:

We start with the inactive list, highlighted for the fourth time in five games by a group of current draft picks and young players – CB Ethan Bonner, OL Andrew Meyer, LB Channing Tindall and rookie sixth-round pick Mohamed Kamara. Also inactive were senior running back Jeff Wilson Jr., quarterback Skylar Thompson and senior safety Jordan Poyer, who is out with a shin injury.

In addition to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. making his Dolphins debut, the team also welcomed returning veterans Terron Armstead, Kendall Fuller, Raheem Mostert and David Long Jr.

This was a brutal game, not only because of the amount of carelessness in both games, but also because of the amount of penalties.

As expected, the Dolphins’ defense didn’t give up too much in the passing game and was only affected by two long runs, including the 33-yard touchdown.

On the other hand, the Dolphins’ running game came to life.

Rookie Jaylen Wright looked really good as a complement to Mostert after De’Von Achane left the game with a concussion. This continued what we have seen so far this season.

The Dolphins’ passing game was much better, which was to be expected since Tyler Huntley had been with the team for a week, Armstead was anchoring the offensive line again, and the Patriots didn’t have a good pass rush.

While Tyreek Hill didn’t put up the big numbers we’ve seen in the past, he was much more committed.

Better yet, tight end Jonnu Smith finally became a factor in the passing game.

This game was far too close for comfort against a really bad New England team, but it will reflect as a win in the standings and the Dolphins really need this one to make a late-season breakthrough if they can get their game underway.

The Dolphins started on offense and looked better with the ball on their first drive than probably at any time in the last three games.

What was particularly encouraging was that tight end Jonnu Smith was finally included.

The drive stalled after a first-and-10 from the New England 42 because of two errors that allowed a 7-yard sack: Liam Eichenberg failed pass defense at the line and Austin Jackson focused on the outside rusher, allowing one free space for the lightning-fast linebacker Anfernee Jennings inside.

Another disappointment on this drive was the continued struggles of the running game, with De’Vachane gaining just 6 yards on two carries and Mostert stuffing his one attempt for no gain.

The Dolphins’ first defensive series showed what an afternoon it could be, with the front four taking advantage of a poor New England offensive line.

The Dolphins’ next series highlighted some of the problems on offense this season and with Huntley at quarterback.

First, there was a quick throw behind the line to Achane that lost 1 yard, a staple of the Dolphins’ offense that simply hasn’t worked this season.

On 3rd-and-7, Huntley opened Tyreek Hill on the flat, but threw it so deep that Hill had to fall to catch the ball – 1 yard short of the first down.

After the Dolphins got a freebie first down on the ensuing punt when New England had too many men on the field, Huntley threw to Beckham a little late, but more importantly, cornerback Christian Gonzalez made a great play getting the ball broke pass and went forward to make the diving interception.

In a sign of how the Dolphins are doing, cornerback Kader Kohou had a chance to stop Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield after a short third-and-2 reception, but the usually confident Kohou failed and Stevenson scored the first down.

And then on the next play, Ogbah, who played great football, was caught inside and the defensive backs showed some sloppy tackling and an inability to shed blocks, and the result was the 33-yard touchdown run that gave New England a 7th :3 brought lead.

The running game began on the next drive with runs of 12 yards by Achane and Mostert, although Achane was injured at the end of his run when it was discovered he was the victim of helmet-to-helmet contact. Achane did not play again due to a concussion.

Huntley had a nifty 20-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle after fighting his way into the pocket, but Waddle later dropped a slant pass, further evidence that the offensive linemen aren’t picking up their game in the absence of Tua Tagovailoa could.

The first quarter ended with the Dolphins trailing 7-3 after Jason Sanders missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.

What stood out on the Patriots’ first possession of the second quarter was the sloppiness of a bad 1-3 team, in this case New England. The Patriots were assessed three penalties during the drive, including a false start against Leverett on a third-and-1.

On the ensuing third-and-six, rookie Chop Robinson put pressure on Brissett and that played a role in the incompletion downfield.

The Dolphins’ next drive started well with a 9-yard run by Mostert, but failed thanks to three penalties, including a hold on center Aaron Brewer.

And then the Dolphins’ special teams suffered another mishap when Jake Bailey’s punt was blocked to give New England the ball at the Miami 23.

But being a bad New England team, they were unable to score any points after two holding penalties when Joey Slye missed a 34-yard field goal attempt with a chip shot.

Huntley had a few good completions over the middle, including another to Jonnu Smith, but Smith later failed to catch what looked like a catchable pass after Huntley scrambled to his right.

On the final play before the two-minute warning, Brewer snapped before Huntley was ready, the ball sailed past him and a third-and-3 from the New England 25 became a fourth-and-25 from the 47 with him the chance to score a field goal. Oh, and the Dolphins were accused of an illegal play because players weren’t ready when the ball was snapped, suggesting Brewer snapped it early. Regardless, this was another sloppy mistake from a Dolphins team that has made way too many of them this season.

The Dolphins offense got another shot before halftime after a three-and-out, thanks to Kader Kohou’s great coverage on a second-and-2 where he stayed step-for-step past the receiver down the sideline AND turned around for one Making play on the ball – something that was a problem for him.

And of course, the Dolphins botched a 51-yard field goal attempt when Blake Ferguson rolled a snap to keeper Jake Bailey.

This came after another completion by Jonnu Smith, which was one of the few highlights in another forgettable first half for the Dolphins.

The defense limited the damage by forcing a three-pointer, but they trailed 7-3 at halftime despite allowing 98 total yards.

Pooh.

There’s more sloppiness early in the second half, this time from Jalen Ramsey, who gave the Patriots 15 yards free reign on a blitz and decided to slap Brissett after kicking the ball free. Although the contact with Brissett’s head was very minimal, there was no reason for Ramsey to do so and it looked like nothing had happened to make it unavoidable.

That penalty turned what would have been a New England third-and-11 into a first-and-10 at the Miami 41 and set up a field goal that gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead.

More sloppiness, this time from New England, and it helped the Dolphins score a field goal and cut their deficit to 10-6. It came in the form of two roughness penalties on DE Keion White, who received a horsecollar penalty on Mostert and a roughness penalty on the passer, totaling 30 yards.

The drive featured some nice runs from Mostert and Jaylen Wright for a 12-yard gain, but why the Dolphins felt the need to throw the ball to Smith in the backfield may be in question.

Kudos also to Tyreek Hill, who again didn’t put up big numbers, but saved the field goal opportunity by knocking the ball out of Gonzalez’s hands in the end zone when it looked like a second interception was about to happen.

The Dolphins’ next possession ended with another field goal, but one might wonder why they didn’t get the first down on fourth-and-2 from the New England 29-yard line.

Of course, they might not have had to settle for a field goal if not for a sack that turned a second-and-8 into a third-and-13 when Huntley hesitated in the pocket and then slipped. For a quarterback with plenty of scrambling ability, it looked like happy feet.

The Dolphins got into field goal range thanks to a crucial run up the middle from Wright, who continued to perform well every time he touched the ball, and a 16-yard completion to Tyreek Hill up the middle, which was Huntley’s best throw of the game was until now.

The Dolphins’ defense allowed a 24-yard run to Antonio Gibson to move the ball into Miami territory, but then stiffened thanks to a dropped pass from rookie second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk and subsequent great coverage from Jevon Holland and Kendall Fuller a third-down incompletion.

Penalties were – once again – a big part of the story of the next drive, starting with holding calls against Liam Eichenberg and tight end Julian Hill. Hill’s penalty was particularly damaging as it wiped out a 33-yard gain by Wright.

But not to be outdone, New England gave the Dolphins a first down and kept their drive alive with a DPI on third-and-13 from the Miami 43 as Mostert attempted to make the catch at midfield.

The running game once again served its purpose: Wright gained 16 yards and Mostert another 18.

The drive ended with fullback Alec Ingold doing a great job with his blocking throughout the drive and scoring from three yards out when the fullback fell.

The failed two-point conversion attempt left the Dolphins ahead 15-10 with 4:24 left.

The defense then allowed New England to drive the entire field before stopping, but only after a touchdown pass to Ja’Lynn Polk was turned over after the replay showed the heel of his right foot landed out of bounds after he had touched his toes in the first.

The worst play on the drive was a 19-yard completion to Demario Douglas on third-and-8 when Jalen Ramsey played way too loose from the slot and allowed the easy completion.

The Dolphins maintained their losing streak after, of course, New England was charged with a false start and a four-and-10 became a four-and-15.

Credit goes to DC Anthony Weaver for bringing the blitz into the game and not committing to the incompletions on third and fourth downs.

New England had one last chance after the Dolphins hit a three-pointer, but Miami managed to pull out a very ugly but much-needed 15-10 win, leaving them 2-3 before the bye.