New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins recap, highlights
The New England Patriots hosted the Miami Dolphins in Week 12 and were able to defeat their AFC East rivals.
The New England Patriots continue to roll. New England came into their Week 12 matchup with the Miami Dolphins riding a six-game winning streak. They are leaving the matchup with a seven-game winning streak.
The Patriots defeated their AFC East rivals handily, as New England blew the Dolphins out 35-17. The score doesn’t even tell the whole story of how dominant the Patriots truly were on Sunday afternoon.
Two Patriots turnovers kept the scoring down. A poor snap from backup center Ted Karras led to a fumble, which Dolphins safety Reshad Jones returned 14 yards for a touchdown. Tom Brady was credited with that turnover, his first of the day. The second would come later in the first half as he was intercepted by Bobby McCain.
Those were virtually the only mistakes the Patriots offense had all game. Outside of the turnovers, the Patriots offense got whatever it wanted against the Dolphins.
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The Dolphins were able to sack Brady once and hit him eight times, but he still had a strong afternoon. He threw only 28 passes, completing 18 of them for 227 yards and four touchdowns. Brady certainly made the most of his pass attempts with the four scores.
Rob Gronkowski was the recipient of two of those touchdowns, as he caught five passes for 82 yards in total. Brandin Cooks caught one as well, leading the team with 83 yards on six receptions. Rex Burkhead caught the other touchdown.
Brady only threw 28 passes today in large part because of the success the ground game had. The Patriots ran the ball right down the Dolphins throats, rushing 38 times for 196 yards. Dion Lewis led the way with 112 yards, needing only 15 carries.
It was a dominant performance by the Patriots. Their offense played well, totaling 417 yards. The Dolphins managed only 221 as backup quarterback Matt Moore couldn’t get anything going. Miami managed only 15 first downs in the game and 3.5 rushing yards per carry and 3.8 yards per pass.
Highlights
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The Patriots will take their winning streak on the road next week. New England will face off with the Buffalo Bills for the first time this season in Week 13. It will be another important game as the Bills are the only team with even an outside chance of chasing down the Patriots in the AFC East.