New England Patriots team grades vs Miami Dolphins Week 12

Arguably the weakest and least consistent part of the Patriots team thus far this season is the run defense. Things started out poorly, and they looked like they were straightening things out. However, when taking a deeper look, some of those ‘good’ performances were because of a lack of attempts by the other team based on game flow.

The game against the Dolphins doesn’t fall under either of those. The Patriots controlled the line of scrimmage and held the Miami rushing attack in check. After trading away their lead back Jay Ajayi prior to the trade deadline the Dolphins turned to the combination of Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake.

That combination has had some strong performances, but the game against the Patriots was not one of them. Williams found some success, rushing eight times for 38 yards. 4.8 yards is a strong per carry average, but the Dolphins abandoned the run early as the Patriots quickly opened up a double-digit lead.

Drake was held to 20 yards on nine carries, fumbling once and losing it. This is the second straight game he has struggled, as he has gained 24 yards on 16 carries the past two weeks. Williams looks like he is moving ahead in the pecking order now as he is outplaying Drake.

Overall, the Patriots allowed only 67 yards on 19 carries. They lived in the backfield, as they had nine tackles for loss in the game. The Dolphins offense really had no chance today as the Patriots took an early lead and knocked them off their game.