The Miami Dolphins improved to 2-0 on the season with a 24-17 win over the Patriots in New England, a bit tougher than expected as they led 17-3 early in the fourth quarter. New England’s offense came alive in the final third and its defense and special teams produced big plays, with a blocked kick and an interception helping them have a chance to force overtime.
After a missed Jason Sanders field goal from 55 yards out, the Pats had excellent field position to try to set up a tying score (or a chance to win with a two-point attempt). Mac Jones got them into Miami territory, but took a bad sack leading to a third-and-long with just over a minute to play. The Pats recovered most of it, but still faced a 4th-and-4 with 57 seconds left and called their final timeout to set up a play.
What they had planned wasn’t exactly how things ended up going, as Jones threw a route to Mike Gesicki at bats, but he caught it just shy and wrapped up and backed away as he pivoted to try and reach the line to win. . Realizing he had no chance himself at first, he simply bounced the ball back to his linemen, Cole Strange making an acrobatic play to jump and catch the ball while spinning in the air, then became the world’s greatest running back and, initially, earned the first down with an incredible effort.
Unfortunately for the Patriots and all non-Dolphins fans who love chaos and fun, upon further review they ruled that Strange’s knee fell before he reached the line for the win, missing a half -metre.
The Dolphins would kneel for victory and take the AFC East lead after the Jets lost to the Cowboys, but their seemingly unstoppable offense against the Chargers in Week 1 showed that this one wasn’t was not without flaws. The good news for Miami is that their defense rebounded significantly and they still managed to produce enough big plays to beat the Pats.
For New England, the lack of explosive plays on offense remains a considerable problem, as they have to be so perfect for so long every drive to score points that it puts immense pressure on Jones and magnifies his mistakes. In a game where they relied heavily on running the ball and tight ends in the passing game, it was entirely appropriate that their final play was a pass to a tight end returned to a lineman, who almost produced an incredible moment for the Pats.