The New England Patriots evened their 2025 record at 1-1 after beating the Miami Dolphins in a nail-biter, 33-27. It was a rollercoaster ride for Mike Vrabel's new squad as they finally prevailed in Miami over a pesky Dolphins team quarterbacked by Tua Tagovailoa, who's Kryptonite to the Patriots.
This was a game marred by more than 20 penalties, including a whopping 11 by the Patriots, a statistic that must have left Head Coach Mike Vrabel thrilled. There were a lot of other negatives in this game by the Patriots, but a win is a win, and the Patriots are now in the win column.
Conversely, there were also some nice positives for the Patriots. The first is always coming away with that win. They avoided a 0-2 start, and that was critical. In addition, some individual players excelled. On offense, quarterback Drake Maye was superb.
Maye completed 82.6 percent of his passes (19/23) for 230 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Rhamondre Stevenson was the player of 2022 with 142 yards from scrimmage. Yet, when it came to the performances of the 2025 free agents, that nod goes to defensive tackle Milton Williams.
Milton Williams made the plays to help beat the Dolphins
Mike Vrabel's marquee signing in free agency was a hero of the 2024 Super Bowl-winning Eagles, defensive tackle Milton Williams. He was made the highest-paid Patriots player by Vrabel with a salary of $104M, on a four-year deal, raising eyebrows all over the NFL. While Williams was that Super Bowl star, his participation in only 48 percent of the plays last season for Philly was questioned.
Williams had a solid if unspectacular first game for the Patriots against the Raiders. He had three stops overall with two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. It was a workmanlike performance but lacked the show-stopping plays that Vrabel and the team would need from the big defensive tackle to justify that bag of cash thrown his way.
For that type of money, Vrabel and Patriot Nation are expecting Williams to show his Super Bowl-level performances often. That first game was OK, but Williams is expected to make big plays as he did in the Super Bowl when he notched two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in the Eagles' win. Against Miami, Milton Williams showed up.
With two sacks, Milton Williams helped turn the game against Miami
Defensive interior linemen are not always the center of attention on a football team. A lot of the time, they labor in the trenches without a lot of notice. Yet, under Vrabel, the emphasis is on getting upfield and making things happen. That's why Williams was brought in as a free agent, and against Miami, he delivered big-time.
Williams notched his first two sacks of the season and his Patriots career against the Dolphins with three overall stops. Yet, it's those game-changing plays, the sacks, that make the difference in a lot of NFL football games. And when they're made at the appropriate time, they win football games.
Against the Dolphins, Williams made his second sack count in a play reminiscent of his Super Bowl heroics. He sacked Tua Tagovailoa, the scourge of the Patriots, and sealed the win on a fourth-down, do-or-die play for Miami. The Patriots then ran out the clock.
The big defensive tackle stepped up big and showed his mettle at the biggest moment in the game. The Patriots needed a big play, something they had few of all afternoon on defense. The game was on the line, and Milton Williams cleaned things up when his team needed it most. He gets the nod as the free agent who showed up big against the Miami Dolphins to nail down the win.