Patriots' Costly Mistakes Lead to Season-Opening Loss to Dolphins
When the New England Patriots' offense bungled through the preseason, Bill Belichick and his Hall-of-Fame mindset simply shrugged.
"Preseason results," he said during a recent radio interview, "aren't really an indication of what kind of team you're going to have."
But after his team's hideous performance in Sunday's 20-7 season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins, Belichick isn't shrugging anymore.
Continuing a troubling trend of mistakes - both mental and physical - the Patriots started slow and never got into gear. Interceptions in the end zone. Jumping offsides on fourth down. Blown assignments along the offensive line. Missed tackles in the secondary. Crucial holding penalties. And, finally, fumbles inside Miami territory.
The Patriots committed a plethora of gaffes in south Florida in losing to the Dolphins in the season opener for the second consecutive season. Last year in Foxboro, Patriots' running back Damien Harris fumbled away a chance at a late field goal in a 17-16 loss. Sunday, New England dug its own hole and ultimately, its grave.
Belichick took his team to Florida five days earlier in order to acclimate to the heat and humidity. Unfortunately, the Pats packed their lethargic training camp with them.
After finally scoring a touchdown when Ty Montgomery literally rolled into the end zone on a short reception in the third quarter, the Patriots pulled within 17-7 and had two chances to make it a game.
But on a fourth down at midfield, quarterback Mac Jones threw an incompletion to tight end Hunter Henry that would've been negated by a holding penalty on left tackle Trent Brown. On New England's next possession, receiver Nelson Agholor caught a crossing pass inside the Dolphins' 40 but then fumbled.
That turnover, which essentially ended the game, was the Patriots' third of the game.
The lack of continuity and communication along the offensive line that muddied New England's preseason spilled over into the second quarter. A busted assignment on the left side allowed Dolphins' blitzer Brandon Jones a free rush to Jones as he dropped back to pass inside the 10. The strip-sack fumble was scooped up on a bounce by Melvin Ingram for a walk-in score.
Efficiently mixing runs and short passes, the Patriots took the opening kick-off and drove to Miami's 22-yard line. Jones then committed the mortal sin of an end-zone interception, but it's difficult to put the blame entirely on him.
DeVante Parker had a step on Xavien Howard, but the Dolphins' Pro Bowl cornerback also had a handful of the Patriots' receiver's jersey. With his target unable to jump for the ball, Jones' passed was deflected into the air and picked off by Jevon Holland.
The Dolphins immediately drove for a 3-0 lead, getting a Jason Sanders 43-yard field goal. The possession was assisted by a key offsides penalty on New England defensive tackle Carl Davis Jr., who - after a timeout by Belichick - jumped the snap count on 4th-and-1 at midfield.
The Patriots' deficit ballooned to 17-0 when safety Kyle Dugger missed a tackle on Jaylen Waddle's 42-yard touchdown catch-and-run on fourth down only 18 seconds before halftime.
To cap their comedy of errors, New England was called for too many men on the field on Miami's final, clock-killing possession.
Jones, who went for x-rays on his back after the game and was unavailable to the media, went 21 of 30 for 213 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while being sacked twice.
The Patriots, who are now 17-17 since Tom Brady left in 2020, travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in Week 2.
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