The Miami Dolphins are one loss away from what may very well be the franchise’s worst collapse in its historical past.
Down their beginning quarterback, Pro Bowl left sort out, Pro Bowl cornerback and standout edge rusher that was a prized commerce deadline acquisition, the Dolphins couldn’t stay answerable for their playoff destiny on the street towards the division rival New England Patriots.
The Patriots made game-changing performs within the second half with their protection, knocked out Miami backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and held on for a 23-21 win over the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
“Definitely didn’t expect this,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated. “It’s pretty frustrating. We’ve got a lot of guys laying it on the line. You want to get the results you feel like the team deserves and should get, and you come up short.”
Miami (8-8), again at .500 on a five-game dropping streak, now wants a win in its finale towards the New York Jets and a Patriots loss on the Buffalo Bills in Week 18 to qualify for the postseason.
“It sucks,” stated large receiver Tyreek Hill, who had 4 catches for 55 yards between time with two quarterbacks.” I can’t clarify it absolutely as a competitor. We need to win all these video games, particularly video games like this.”
“We still have games to play,” McDaniel stated. “We have one in particular against the New York Jets that we have to respond to, and that’s what I’ll be focused on getting the team channeled towards.”
New England (8-8) has now leaped Miami for the AFC’s seventh seed and ultimate wild-card spot, which it could seal with a win at Orchard Park subsequent week.
The Patriots scored with their protection, as they typically do, late within the third quarter when Bridgewater, enjoying for Tua Tagovailoa as he recovers from a concussion, was intercepted by New England security Kyle Dugger. Dugger returned it 39 yards for a landing that put the Patriots forward, 16-14, after Nick Folk’s missed further level.
Bridgewater exited after the play with a finger harm on his proper, throwing hand that both occurred on the throw earlier than, when his hand hit the helmet of Patriots cross rusher Josh Uche, or when he tried to carry down Dugger close to the aim line on his return. McDaniel believed it occurred on the sort out try.
Rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson went in for Bridgewater, and he was intercepted by Jonathan Jones on a cross that was behind Hill, ricocheted off Hill’s hand and popped up into the air close to the sideline.
“I’m going to take [the blame],” Hill stated. “They pay me a lot of money to make those plays, so I just got to make a play for my guy Skylar. Doesn’t matter where [the ball] is at.”
Thompson completed 12 of 21 for 104 yards, a late landing to tight finish Mike Gesicki and the sooner interception. Bridgewater exited after going 12 of 19 for 161 yards, a landing and an interception.
“It’s never a situation that you want to have happen to get into the game,” Thompson stated. “It’s tough to see Tua go down with an injury last week and Teddy experience one this week, because those guys mean a lot to me.”
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, who earned his first win towards Miami in 4 tries, put New England up by two possessions when he threw a 1-yard landing to Jakobi Meyers with 4:37 remaining. Jones was 20 of 33 for 203 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Thompson’s landing to Gesicki received Miami to inside two factors with 1:04 remaining and no timeouts, however the Patriots recovered the onside kick to seal their victory.
The Dolphins appeared in management after they broke a 7-7 halftime tie with Bridgewater flipping a cross to operating again Raheem Mostert for a 2-yard landing early within the third quarter, ending off a drive that started with distinctive discipline place on the New England 41-yard line.
The Patriots crept to inside 4, 14-10, with a 49-yard discipline aim from Folk earlier than Dugger’s defensive rating, which marked his third of the season, New England’s seventh general and fourth consecutive week with one.
The Patriots struck first Sunday with South Florida product Tyquan Thornton catching a 7-yard landing to the surface after beating Miami cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.
On every workforce’s first drive Sunday, there have been downfield passes close to a sideline that have been shut calls. New England received the decision in its favor every time. After the Dolphins’ deep shot from Bridgewater to Hill was known as incomplete, a 24-yard connection from Jones to Thornton was deemed in, even after a McDaniel problem. Miami additionally had cornerback penalties of cross interference from Keion Crossen, who was beginning with Xavien Howard out, and defensive holding by Kader Kohou on the sequence. Crossen additionally had a vital cross interference within the fourth quarter that set New England up for the landing to go up by 9.
The Dolphins responded to the Patriots’ first landing with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a Hill landing on a backward cross from Bridgewater that made it a dashing rating, formally. Miami stored the sequence going with a fourth-and-1 conversion by operating again Jeff Wilson Jr., which adopted a Patriots’ running-into-the-kicker penalty on a punt that adopted a false begin on an unique fourth-and-1 in Dolphins territory.
Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders missed a 51-yard discipline aim try within the second quarter. Miami got here up empty on a second-quarter likelihood to interrupt a 7-7 tie after Bridgewater threw behind an open Jaylen Waddle for an incompletion. Waddle had three catches for 52 yards.
The Dolphins ran the ball 27 instances for 86 yards. Wilson had 45 yards on 15 makes an attempt, and Mostert went for 29 on 9 carries. Most of his harm was accomplished catching the ball out of the backfield with eight receptions for 62 yards and the landing.
Christian Wilkins, Elandon Roberts and Zach Sieler recorded sacks for Miami.
The Dolphins’ regular-season finale at Hard Rock Stadium towards the Jets is but to have a kickoff date and time between subsequent Saturday and Sunday.
“I can guarantee you that nobody in here is happy with it,” left guard Liam Eichenberg stated of the dropping streak. “Just going to get back to work and we’re going to fix it. We’re going to end the year on a win. That’s the plan, and I’m looking forward to getting back to Miami.”
“We all got to look at ourselves in the mirror,” outdoors linebacker Jaelan Phillips stated. “We just got to focus on next week. Win or go home.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com