The Patriots went from being among the NFL's healthiest teams last season to becoming one of its most injured during the first half of this season.
It hasn’t stopped them from winning their first three AFC East games.
Working without wide receiver A.J. Brown and an ever-changing group of offensive linemen, quarterback Drake Maye helped New England's offense figure things out as the Patriots rallied from a 13-3 halftime deficit and through rainy conditions
to beat Miami 24-19 on Sunday.
The Patriots (5-3) have won four of five after a 1-2 start. While his team left Sunday with yet another injury — a foot issue for tight end Hunter Henry — coach Mike Vrabel likes the fight his team has shown.
“I learned that if I can keep my composure, I think they’ll keep their composure,” Vrabel said. “I have to do a better job of understanding that they can make some plays and we can make some plays too.”
Maye, who finished 16 of 20 for 199 yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), has gone without a turnover in three of the last four games.
Maye said when the Patriots remain composed, they can find a way to win no matter what adjustments they have to make in personnel.
“We just started to finish off drives,” Maye said. “We hit some big ones which helped and we had some catch-and-runs which were nice, but we started running football pretty well. It was nice to see that and then we started playing complementary football.”
A week after rushing for a season-low 70 yards in a loss at Chicago, New England found its running game against the Dolphins, Led by Rhamondre Stevenson’s 19 carries for 82 yards, the Patriots finished with 131 yards. With a 7-yard run in the third quarter, Stevenson became the fourth player in Patriots history to eclipse 4,000 yards rushing for his career (he now has 4,036).
Ball security. Wide receiver Efton Chism fumbled in the first quarter, and the Patriots have a minus-7 turnover differential this season. Only the Indianapolis Colts are worse with a minus-11 differential.
Kyle Williams. The second-year wide receiver continues to make the most of his targets in his second season. His 13 targets and seven receptions this season are the fewest among Patriots receivers. But he is making big plays when he gets the ball. His 43-yard TD reception in the third quarter was his second scoring catch this season of 30-plus yards. All three of his touchdowns during his rookie season also covered at least 30 yards.
Kicker Andy Borregales. His miss from 40 yards Sunday dropped his field goal percentage to 76.9% (10 of 13), including 3 of 5 on attempts of 40-49 yards.
Henry left in the second quarter and did not return. Neither did rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas (knee) following his exit in the third quarter.
27.3 — Williams’ team-leading average yards per reception this season.
The Patriots host Green Bay on Sunday.
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