We all remember in the movie Varsity Blues, fictional quarterback Johnny Moxon takes his buddies to a strip club the night before a game to rebel against their coach and subsequently plays terribly in a loss. On Sunday, the Patriots looked like they had been partying in South Beach all night.
The Miami Dolphins raced out to a 31-0 second-half lead, scoring 24 second-quarter points in boat-racing the Patriots en route to a 31-15 victory that wasn't that close. On a day when New England had a chance to spoil its division rival's possible path to the playoffs, the Patriots were spanked. Embarrassed. Caught with their pants down.
Miami clearly looked the part of a team battling for a postseason spot, and the Patriots once again looked like a team where poor rookie quarterback Drake Maye (22-for-37, 221 yards, one touchdown, one interception) was out on an island by himself, and New England's band of misfit toys didn't do much to help him out.
The entire team and coaching staff were villainous in this one. It was terrible coaching and bad playing all the way around. Especially by the secondary. Without further ado, these are the Patriots' biggest villains who would make the Wet Bandits from "Home Alone" look like loving, adoring grandparents.
The top 3 villains from the Patriots Week 12 loss to the Dolphins
1. The entire secondary
Tua Tagovailoa is a talented quarterback, but the Patriots' secondary made him look like the second coming of Dan Marino. Tagovailoa burned New England's beleaguered defense to the tone of 317 yards and four touchdown passes. Jaylen Waddle may as well have been playing flag football, as he hauled in eight passes for 144 yards and a score.
Kyle Dugger dropped what could've been a pick-six on Miami's final drive of the second half, and what could've been a 21-7 game at halftime turned into 24-0. Dugger and Christian Gonzalez are studs, but this unit needs serious offseason upgrades. Gonzalez was a bright spot with a fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
2. Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson
The Patriots' running game continues to be a model of inconsistency, and as great as Maye has been, you can't expect a rookie quarterback to do it himself. This offense is starting to resemble the mid-1980s Chicago Bulls, also known as Michael and his Jordan-airres.
Gibson led the Patriots on Sunday with 30 yards on six carries, and that's not a winning recipe. Maye had to throw the ball 37 times, and while the score got away from New England quickly in the first half, that's no excuse.
3. Jerod Mayo
It's really simple. Ten penalties for 75 yards is inexcusable. That included three procedure penalties on the Patriots' first drive of the game, one of which resulted in a missed field goal. You can't beat anybody in the NFL playing that way, and this team is clearly one that is not disciplined. The fact that this is happening in the 12th game of the regular season is downright unfathomable.