Dolphins-Patriots Week 18 Halftime Observations

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 18 game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium

Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers (14) hands the ball off to running back Ollie Gordon II (31) against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' season finale against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium:

We'll start with the list of inactives, which featured no less than five starters missing — RB De'Von Achane, WR Jaylen Waddle, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, OLB Chop Robinson and T Austin Jackson.

Center Aaron Brewer was back in the lineup after missing the Tampa Bay game with a neck injury.

Linebacker Derrick McLendon made his NFL debut after being elevated from the practice squad Saturday.

The Dolphins looked early like they were going to get blown out, but they hung in there and went into halftime with the outcome very much in doubt.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Quinn Ewers was very impressive from the start in a variety of ways, including his ball handling and play fakes, his scrambling and using different angles to throw the ball.

After struggling in recent weeks in third-and-short situations, Ollie Gordon II converted two third-and-1s in the first half with ease.

Malik Washington again showed his value to the offense as an all-purpose offensive player — or gadget player, if you prefer.

While his stats didn't paint a pretty picture, Jaylen Wright ran hard after starting in place of Achane.

That was some kind of tackle by Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson to stop TreVeyon Henderson on the fourth-down stop. Brooks was very active as he looked to nail down the NFL tackle title. It also should be mentioned that Dodson also had a great tackle on third down to stop tight end Hunter Henry just shy of the first down.

The Dolphins are getting good at blocking field goals late in the season, with Zach Sieler following Zeek Biggers' effort against Tampa Bay. As was the case on the Biggers play, Sieler got good penetration and took advantage of a low kick, with the replay showing the ball hitting the under of his bicep.

Riley Patterson's 52-yard field goal was significant not only because it pulled the Dolphins within 14-10 at the half, but it kept him on track to break Jason Sanders' single-season field goal accuracy record. As a reminder, if Patterson doesn't miss in this game, he'll get the record; if he does, it remains with Sanders.

THE LOWLIGHTS

To say the run defense was porous at the start of the game would be generous. And it wasn't just the 56-yard run by Rhamondre Stevenson on the second snap of the game, the opening touchdown was embarrassingly easy for the defense.

Cornerback Rasul Douglas has had a very impressive season, but he got baited badly on the flea-flicker that resulted in an easy 35-yard completion on New England's second touchdown drive.

Douglas came back, however, with a really nice pass breakup on New England's third drive.

There's nothing with Mike McDaniel's decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the New England 8-yard line, but the pass protection broke down way too quickly to give Ewers much of a chance.

The All-22 later might tell a different story, but guard Jonah Savaiinaea wound up on the ground on the play where Gordon was dropped for a 1-yard loss on third-and-1. That ended a Miami possession at a time when the Dolphins trailed by only seven points.

It's too obvious to say that Wright can't fumble, but it's worth mentioning in this game that the Dolphins simply didn't have much of a margin for error in this game.

What's really bad for Wright is that it was his second fumble of the half, though the Dolphins recovered the other one, That's the kind of stuff that gets a running back benched.

Bradley Chubb as a veteran should know better than to fall for a hard count as the two-minute warning is approaching. We appreciate the eagerness, but that's a free 5 yards for no reason.

The late sack in the first half came when Christian Barmore pushed back Savaiinaea before disengaging and getting to Ewers. It continued the rookie's struggles in pass protection.

While it was a good first half overall, it was a bummer that the defense gave up gains of 13 and 14 yards in the final 30 seconds to allow New England to get a 59-yard field goal to make it 17-10 at the half.