While the AFC East had been secured in December, the No. 2 seed had to wait until January.
That wait ended Sunday. The New England Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 38-10 to close out the regular season with a 14-3 record.
Here’s a glance back on the finale as head coach Mike Vrabel’s side sets playoff sights on the Los Angeles Chargers.
Against Miami, Maye rests MVP case where it began
The first win of the campaign arrived against the Dolphins. The last win would, too. Drake Maye remained at the center of why.
The Patriots quarterback
completed 14-of-18 passes for 191 yards with one touchdown on Sunday. He added 41 rushing yards through a handful of carries before becoming a spectator.
Taking the field in jumbo “12” personnel, the opening drive spanned three handoffs and 70 yards on the way to a 7-0 lead. A 92-yard surge followed next time out for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ contingent, ranging from a flea-flicker to a pre-snap motion out wide. But the scoreboard didn’t stay at 14-0. A three-and-out was met by a turnover on downs instead. By halftime in Foxborough, New England stood with a 17-10 lead and a single conversion on third down, courtesy of a scramble by the 23-year-old NFL MVP candidate.
Coming out of the break, Maye went a perfect 7-of-7 for 107 yards and his 31st touchdown through the air. Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs took things home with 11:01 left on the game clock as the division champions reached the 14 wins for the first time since 2016.
The game’s top target would be tight end and captain Hunter Henry, who caught five passes for 56 yards and a $250,000 incentive with his 60th grab of the season.
Diggs eclipses 1,000 receiving yards
A wide receiver room that lost Mack Hollins to injured reserve with an abdomen injury last week had plenty to gain.
Stefon Diggs led the way for New England’s depth chart in the days after his December charges of strangulation and battery came to light. The past All-Pro caught three passes for 43 yards against Miami. A 34-yarder in the final quarter got him over the 1,000-yard mark for the seventh time dating back to 2018. No receiver had gotten there for the organization since Patriots Hall of Fame inductee Julian Edelman’s 2019 campaign.
Efton Chism III, fresh off his initial trip to the end zone, made his initial start out wide alongside the veteran. The undrafted rookie out of Eastern Washington turned trickery into a 35-yard reception early on.
No. 66 back on the blindside
The Patriots went four games without Will Campbell due to an MCL sprain. But the rookie left tackle found himself activated from injured reserve on the eve of the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. He found himself back in the lineup from there.
Next to the No. 4 overall pick out of LSU, the starting offensive line included Ben Brown at left guard, Garrett Bradbury at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard, Morgan Moses at right tackle and Thayer Munford Jr. as the eligible sixth man.
A road-grading group. No sacks followed for the Dolphins, while rookie interior lineman Jared Wilson spent a second week in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Five touchdowns for the backfield
Miami entered the season finale having allowed north of 2,000 rushing yards to opponents. That would be music to the ears of New England’s tandem.
Scoring three touchdowns for the first time in his NFL tenure, Rhamondre Stevenson turned seven carries into 131 yards and two catches in 22 yards on Sunday.
The starting running back broke off a season-long run of 65 yards on the opening drive with his 6-foot, 227-pound blend of patience and punish. And after plunging in for a touchdown in Wildcat fashion, he notched his second on a sluggo route. A hat-trick followed on the ground from 35 yards away.
TreVeyon Henderson visited the end zone, too, for touchdown No. 9 and No. 10 of his inaugural campaign. The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month rushed for 53 yards over the course of 13 attempts. Veteran D’Ernest Johnson rounded out the backfield and operated as the kickoff returner.
Turnovers help turn the tide
A third start was on deck for Quinn Ewers. After a bootleg keeper for nine yards, the Dolphins quarterback went 16-of-23 passing for 137 yards. He tossed one touchdown and one interception.
The secondary hosting the No. 231 overall pick did not have to cover the likes of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle or tight end Darren Waller. Yet after a drop ended the first series with a turnover on downs, Miami returned to the red zone with ease on the second series. And wideout Malik Washington made the most of being unaccounted for on play-faking TD catch with rookie safety Craig Woodson the closest man in coverage.
A defense heading into January football didn’t resemble one early on. Turnovers helped turn the tide.
Linebacker Jack Gibbens and Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez forced a fumble on sophomore running back Jaylen Wright in the second quarter. And in the third quarter, veteran safety Jaylinn Hawkins picked off the rookie quarterback in the end zone to get to a team-leading four on the season.
Four sacks on Ewers
Standout running back De’Von Achane closed out the season among Miami’s inactives. New England, on the other hand, finished with a Super Bowl LIX champion officially back from injured reserve.
Milton Williams started on Sunday. Unblocked, he soon broke six yards into the backfield on a tackle for loss. The streaky defense took the field in the base 3-4. That starting front line also included Cory Durden and Christian Barmore, who recorded a sack days after his domestic assault and battery charges stemming from August surfaced.
The Patriots remained without nose tackle Khyiris Tonga as well as captains Harold Landry III and Robert Spillane. But there was another captain on the backend. A third-and-10 nickel blitz from captain Marcus Jones sent the punt unit on in a 24-10 game. Undrafted edge defender Elijah Ponder got the third sack of the outing after previously gloving a fumble recovery.
And on a one-year deal, K’Lavon Chaisson got the last. The veteran outside linebacker extended his career best to 7.5 sacks and hit a $500,000 incentive in the process.
Borregales goes from rejection to 59
With 1:42 to go before halftime, the opportunity to take a 17-7 lead went awry for Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer’s group. Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler sliced through the gap occupied by offensive linemen Vederian Lowe and Brenden Jaimes to deliver a 38-yard rejection.
It marked the first blocked field goal of the season for New England. Only there would be a quick response.
Rookie kicker Andy Borregales split the uprights from 59 yards away for a new career long as things reached intermission at 17-10. That now holds a spot in the franchise archives behind only Stephen Gostkowski’s 62-yarder from 2017 and Joey Slye’s 63-yarder from 2024. The former Miami Hurricane finished Sunday 1-of-2 on field goals and 5-of-5 on extra points.
