Winners and losers from Patriots week one loss at Dolphins

The New England Patriots fell in week one to the Miami Dolphins. Here are some winners and losers from their 2022 opening game.  Even in defeat, I think we can find some positives, even if there are just a few.

The Patriots clearly have a tough road this season, and I think this week one loss was only the beginning, unfortunately.  Even with Bill Belichick at the helm, New England struggled mightily.  To be fair, they don’t usually play well in Miami, but this felt like a game that was even worse than usual.

Patriots winners and losers from week one loss

Winner: Rush defense

The rush defense ended up being a winner today.  Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel comes from the Shanahan tree, who is known for always having a killer run game.  Today, even though seven different ball carries got work, they were only able to muster 65 rushing yards.  They held Miami to just 2.8 yards per attempt, and I think if they can hold a potentially stellar running team like the Dolphins to this type of performance, the rest of the season might end up going well for this unit.

Loser: DeVante Parker

DeVante Parker was supposed to have a big game today, right?  After seven years in Miami, the team essentially broke up with him for the popular kid in school in Tyreek Hill.  Parker only managed one catch for nine yards, and it kind of felt like he was supposed to have a bigger day.

It was clear that other players like Jakobi Meyers and Jonnu Smith were able to enjoy stronger performances, even though Parker appears to be the most talented receiver the team has.

Winner: Kyle Dugger

Kyle Dugger had himself a nice game.  He notched six total tackles, five solo tackles, and two tackles for loss.  The third year safety isn’t a household name yet, but his first game in the 2022 season seemed to have helped that cause.

Loser: The entire offense

The clear loser of this game was the entire offense.  They were able to move the ball a bit during the early parts of the game, but after that, no consistency was found.  Ty Montgomery caught the lone touchdown for the Patriots.

No Patriots receiver had over four receptions or 55 receiving yards, and Mac Jones tossed an interception on a tipped pass and finished with just 213 rushing yards.  Jones was also sacked twice.  The transition away from Josh McDaniels for years in New England is already proving to be a tough adjustment to make.

The defense only allowed Miami to score one offensive touchdown, which should have ended in a convincing win for the Patriots, but instead, largely because of the offensive woes, it was a convincing win for the Dolphins.