New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins: Game Analysis
Negatives
- The biggest negative is Garoppolo going down in the 2nd quarter. It’s great that he was able to get a first down on a throw to Malcolm Mitchell, however, it resulted in losing the QB for the rest of the game and possibly for the next upcoming games against the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. There have been comparisons between Garoppolo and Tony Romo, so let’s hope injuries aren’t one of them.
- Garoppolo also had a couple bad throws against the Dolphins. For starters, on the play-action, Garoppolo had WR/Special Teams Specialist Matt Slater down the field, but overthrew the ball. There was also a pass to Danny Amendola that resulted in a first down, but was luckily not picked by the linebacker in coverage. Lastly, there was a bad read to Mitchell running a comeback route and could’ve resulted in an INT.
- Ball security is still something the Patriots need to work on as there were a couple fumbles this game (Blount fumbled that luckily bounced out of bounds, Brissett fumble that was recovered by James White, Amendola fumble that was recovered by the Dolphins)
- Bad penalties again are giving the opposing team good field position or stalling offensive drives for the Patriots (hold calls and pass interference).
- On the 24 yard-TD to Kenny Stills, CB Justin Coleman tried to jumped the out route, but was fooled as Stills headed to the end zone.
- One question that was constantly being asked throughout this game, especially the 2nd half, is: “Where is the pass rush?” There was pressure at times, however, the Patriots front seven hardly got close to Tannehill. For the first time in 30 games, the Patriots did not record a sack., according to Ben Volin. It seemed as if DE Chris Long was the only defender on the line who’s name was called.