The Patriots had a lot on their plate going into Week 2, with a disappointing loss to the Raiders to kick off the season, and many analysts and fans feared doom and gloom was coming. It put a lot of pressure on Mike Vrabel to turn things around against a historically difficult game on the Patriots' schedule, playing the Dolphins in Miami, where they haven't won since 2019.
For that reason alone, there wasn't much optimism that they would pull out the win, and for most of the game, despite how well Drake Maye was playing, it didn't look too promising. And in typical Miami fashion, the game came down to the last second, after an afternoon filled with dramatic moments, with the Patriots ending the game with a fourth-down sack by Milton Williams.
But it wasn't just New England that was dealing with the pressure to win. The Dolphins, who were blown out by the Colts last week, also needed to walk away on a positive note on Sunday, especially head coach Mike McDaniel, who has been in the hot seat since last season.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, yet fortunately for the Patriots, this loss might lead to a big decision from Miami's front office, potentially ending the McDaniel era in South Beach.
The Patriots might have sealed the deal for the Dolphins to fire Mike McDaniel
A lot was on the line for both teams going into this week's matchup, but perhaps none more dire than the future of McDaniel as the Dolphins' head coach.
From the second he was initially hired, he was all the rage around the NFL, continuing the pattern by teams to bring in young and upcoming coordinators to take their team to the next level. But that has already proven to be far from what they have gotten from McDaniel over the last three years.
From impressive moments that made it look like the team was finally turning things around, to games like Sunday's, where the Dolphins shot themselves in the foot and handed the win to their bitter divisional rivals, the Dolphins continue to self-sabotage, and it can all be traced back to McDaniel.
Fans are already feeling it too, making the situation much worse. They came together before Sunday's matchup to have a plane fly over the stadium declaring the team fire Chris Grier and McDaniel, which is never a positive sign of where a franchise is.
That was already the prevailing sentiment after last week, when players told reporters they had held a players-only meeting following their brutal loss to the Colts, and now things are even more in question after how they lost to the Patriots this week.