With rain in the forecast and seemingly half of the roster injured, Sunday was never going to be an easy day at the office for the New England Patriots. These early-season games at Miami never seem to be.
But after a miserable first half, the Patriots put together one of their best halves of the season to turn a potential disaster into a galvanizing win.
Drake Maye posted a 141.5 passer rating in the rain despite tight end Hunter Henry joining the Patriots’ laundry list of skill position injuries, and New England strung together three consecutive touchdown drives in the second half to defeat the Dolphins, 24-19, at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Patriots improved to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in the division. The Dolphins’ young roster showed plenty of fight but dropped to 1-6.
New England trailed 13-3 at halftime. The offense’s 98 net yards in the first half was the franchise’s fewest since 2024.
As head coach Mike Vrabel said afterward, winning divisional games on the road is never easy, and this one was certainly earned. Here were the Patriots’ studs (along with a few duds) from a Week 8 win that required some unheralded players to step up.
Drake Maye and an unlikely supporting cast delivered when the Patriots needed them most
Winner: Drake Maye - QB
Maye was money in the second half, fittingly looking like a point guard when he faked a pitch to running back Rhamondre Stevenson before taking it in himself for the go-ahead score near the end of the third quarter. The play came in the middle of a 21-0 run that saw the Patriots flip a 13-3 deficit into a 24-13 lead.
Maye elevated an offense that was essentially down to Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III, DeMario Douglas, Eli Raridon, and Stevenson at the skill positions. He has been on a heater, and he certainly didn’t cool off on Sunday.
Winner: DeMario Douglas - WR
Douglas entered this game as New England’s de facto No. 1 wide receiver, and he showed up big-time in the second half.
Douglas led all Patriots receivers with 76 yards and a touchdown, including a 48-yard touchdown that helped turn the lights out in the fourth quarter. An even bigger play came a little earlier — Douglas extending to convert a key fourth down with the Patriots trailing and right on the edge of the red zone.
Loser: Andy Borregales - K
Speaking of that key fourth-down conversion, would Vrabel have taken the three points had Borregales not missed a 40-yard field goal attempt earlier in the game?
The second-year kicker has now missed four kicks this season, three field goals and an extra point. All three of his missed field goals have come from inside 50 yards.
No Patriots fan feels good right now when Borregales trots out to attempt a kick. The head coach doesn’t appear to, either. It’s a concern.
Winner: Christian Elliss - LB
Elliss was awesome in this game and really has been all season. The speedy linebacker was everywhere, racking up nine tackles, a half sack, two tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and four stuffs.
Elliss is in a contract year and is currently playing his way into a major payday. He’s already up to 60 tackles on the season. His speed and physicality are giving the Patriots an identity on defense.
Winner: Cory Durden - DT
Durden responded a bit in this game. There’s been some recent chatter on how the team misses Khyiris Tonga and could use a run-stuffing defensive lineman at the trade deadline.
If Durden plays like he did on Sunday, the Patriots will be fine.
Durden finished the game with 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and three QB hits. He also notched a pair of run stuffs, per Pro Football Focus, for the second straight week. Durden seems to be coming on, and this Dolphins game was his best of the season.
Loser: Eli Raridon - TE
With so many key skill position players down, you would have expected Raridon to be more of a factor in this game. That was doubly true after Henry exited in the first half with a foot injury.
Raridon wound up catching just one of his four targets for 5 yards, and also had a couple of false starts. One of the penalties was a bad one on first-and-goal that pushed the Patriots back to the 15-yard line, leading to a chat with Vrabel on the sideline.
Hopefully the rookie can learn from this one, because this was a dud.
Winner: Rhamondre Stevenson - RB
Stevenson continues to be the Patriots’ most valuable skill position player. He frequently moved the pile on his rushing attempts (19 carries for 82 yards) and also cleanly handled the game-sealing onside kick.
There’s been a lot of buzz among fans around a potential trade with the Colts for Jonathan Taylor, but running back is well down the list of the Patriots’ roster concerns right now.
Winner: Gabe Jacas - EDGE
Jacas continues to ascend despite seeing a limited amount of snaps as more of a situational pass rusher. The rookie played 19 defensive snaps against Miami, per PFF, and still managed to record 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, and two QB hits.
Jacas’ 23 quarterback pressures ranks second among Patriots defenders through eight games.
Loser: Charles Woods - CB
Honorable mention to guard Walter Rouse, who was benched in favor of Ben Brown after the first half, but Woods gets the nod here.
Woods didn’t really play on defense in this game — just two snaps, per PFF — but he lost his footing and got cooked by Kevin Coleman Jr. for a 35-yard touchdown with 2:04 remaining in regulation.
With the Patriots looking to salt the game away on defense with a two-score lead, it wasn't a great look.
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