Drake Maye threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and the New England Patriots scored 21 straight points in the second half to come back and beat the Miami Dolphins 24-19 on Sunday, November 1, at Hard Rock Stadium.
New England improves to 5-3 after trailing 13-3 at halftime. It won without receivers A.J. Brown (knee and ankle) and Mack Hollins (calf) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness). Miami falls to 1-6 a week after winning for the first time this season.
Miami’s best half of the season
The Dolphins’ pass rush and a takeaway set the tone early. Andy Borregales gave New England a 3-0 lead with a 34-yard field goal, but Jacob Rodriguez then knocked the ball loose from Efton Chism III, and JuJu Brents recovered at the Patriots 19. Zane Gonzalez tied the game with a 31-yard field goal and later hit from 52 yards, banking the kick in off the left upright.
New England put together a 12-play drive late in the half, but Borregales missed wide right from 40 yards. Malik Willis then took Miami 70 yards in 11 plays in the final two minutes. Malik Washington briefly left the drive after a hard hit by Christian Elliss, who was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but he came back five plays later and caught a 1-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal with 8 seconds left. It was Washington’s first receiving touchdown of the season, and Miami led 13-3 at the break.
“I thought it was probably the best half that we played all year in the first half in some phases,” Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said. “Those are the opportunities where you’ve got to learn to put people away.”
Vrabel’s challenge and Maye’s fake pitch
The Patriots went three-and-out to start the third quarter, then got back in the game on a disputed play. Maye threw deep to Kyle Williams, and the pass was ruled incomplete because Williams appeared to lose the ball when his knee hit the ground. Mike Vrabel threw his challenge flag, and replay showed Williams had crossed the goal line before losing it. The call was changed to a 43-yard touchdown that made it 13-10. “I was a lot more certain than the officials were the first time they called it,” Vrabel said.
Miami went three-and-out next, and the drive stalled after running back Ollie Gordon II drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for something he said to a defender. Hafley pulled him for a play. New England then put together a 13-play, 73-yard drive that took 7:36, converting a fourth-and-2 on a pass to DeMario Douglas after a replay review. On third-and-goal from the 2, Maye faked a pitch to Rhamondre Stevenson and ran in for a 17-13 lead with 59 seconds left in the third. It was his fifth straight game with at least three total touchdowns.
Douglas breaks it open
On Miami’s second play of the fourth quarter, Kevin Byard intercepted Willis at midfield. One play later, Douglas caught a pass from Maye, weaved through the Miami secondary and scored from 48 yards out to make it 24-13 with 12:39 left.
Gonzalez missed a 43-yard field goal wide left with 6:45 to play. Willis still found rookie Kevin Coleman Jr. for a 35-yard touchdown with 2:04 left, but the two-point pass failed. Stevenson recovered Bradley Pinion’s onside kick, and New England ran out the clock.
The numbers
- Drake Maye: 16 of 20 for 199 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, plus a rushing touchdown; sacked three times.
- DeMario Douglas: three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Williams had one catch, the 43-yard score, and Chism had five catches for 37 yards.
- Rhamondre Stevenson: 19 carries for 82 yards, plus the onside-kick recovery. Corey Kiner added 38 yards on seven carries.
- Patriots defense: five sacks, Byard’s interception, and nine tackles each from Carlton Davis III and Elliss.
- Malik Willis: 21 of 32 for 211 yards, two touchdowns and an interception; sacked five times.
- Dolphins: Ollie Gordon II ran 19 times for 69 yards, Coleman had three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, and Washington had five catches for 40 yards and a score. Jordyn Brooks made 11 tackles.
- Kickers: Gonzalez was 2 of 3, in his second game since re-signing with Miami. Borregales was 1 of 2.
New England outgained Miami 313-269, ran for 131 yards and held the ball for 31:57. The Patriots were 2 for 2 on fourth down.
What it means
“(If) you want to be a great quarterback in the National Football League, there’s not a whole lot of excuses,” Vrabel said of Maye. “You go out there and find ways to win for your football team.” With his top receiver and a starting running back out, Maye completed 80 percent of his passes and made the key plays in the second half.
Miami played well for 30 minutes and then fell apart, which has been a pattern in a 1-6 season. The Patriots lost tight end Hunter Henry to a foot injury in the second quarter and linebacker Gabe Jacas to a knee injury in the third. Neither returned.
What comes next
New England hosts the Green Bay Packers next Sunday. Miami hosts the Detroit Lions.
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