Ahead of his first training camp as Patriots head coach in 2025, Mike Vrabel explained that he was judging his team’s performances by three distinct categories: the good, the bad, and the s—t that gets you beat. If Vrabel looks at his team through those specific categorizations, we shall follow his lead.
The New England Patriots are back in the win column. Taking on the Dolphins in a rainy Miami on Sunday, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel secured a 24-19 victory to improve to 5-3 on the season.
It wasn’t a groundbreaking performance, but one that still allowed the team to head back to Foxborough with some momentum on its side.
With that said, let’s dive into our breakdown of the good and the not-so-good from the win at Hard Rock Stadium.
The good: Halftime adjustments
Judged by the game’s first 30 minutes, the Patriots did not look like a team capable of competing for a playoff spot this year. Despite going up against a one-win team, they were outperformed and found themselves trailing by 10 points heading into the half.
Coming out of it, however, they showed some much-needed signs of life. The inconsistency that plagued them early on, especially on offense but also in parts on the defensive side of the ball, became a thing of the past — partially due to improved performance, partially due to some apparent tweaks being made. At first glance, inserting Ben Brown at left guard in place of Walter Rouse and being more aggressive with the man coverage calls seemed to factor into the change.
Whatever it was, the Patriots showed more urgency and the results looked the part. The offense in particular did a 180 after being stuck in the mud in the first two quarters: it starting pushing the ball downfield in the passing game and finished drives with touchdowns. After going three-and-out to open the second half, the unit fournd the end zone on three straight possessions to start pulling away.
Whatever buttons Mike Vrabel and company pushed during the intermission, it worked.
The bad: Procedural issues
The Patriots looked uncharacteristically sloppy on Sunday, and one number that reflects this is this: six — that’s the number of pre-snap penalties the team had.
On offense, rookie tight end Eli Raridon was flagged for a pair of false starts. On defense, Joshua Farmer, Gabe Jacas, Dre’Mont Jones and Cory Durden were all penalized for lining up offsides; Jones’ infraction negated an interception by teammate Christian Elliss. In addition, the Patriots were flagged two more times for a grand total of eight penalties, and a loss of 46 yards.
In the grand scheme of things, those issues were a footnote. That’s partially due to the Dolphins not being good enough overall to challenge New England even with the aided penalty yardage. Other clubs, including the Green Bay Packers next Sunday, appear to be better equipped to capitalize on miscues such as these.
The s—t that gets you beat: Missed opportunities
After the game’s first three drives, the Patriots appeared to be in full control. They forced a pair of three-and-outs defensively to bookmark a field goal drive. Then, however, came the first of their setbacks: wide receiver Efton Chism getting the ball punched out while trying to gain extra yards after a short reception in the flat.
The Patriot had spoken all week about Miami’s aggressiveness attacking the ball, and they were able to get it out on this occasion. The play became a turning point in the first half, and did not only set up a game-tying field goal but also let the momentum shift toward the home team. The same is true for other moments, including Andy Borregales missing a 40-yard field goal, or Craig Woodson dropping what should have been an interception in the early third period.
The Patriots had their chances to start pulling away sooner than they did, but they kept stumbling and failed to do a proper job extending or finishing drives. They also played a particularly bad defensive series inside the two-minute warning of the second quarter, allowing Malik Willis to carve up the secondary on a touchdown drive to put his team up 13-3.
New England did overcome its early-game wobbles, but it didn’t have to be this way.
