The New England Patriots extended their winning streak against the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough to nine, defeating the Dolphins 35-17.
The Dolphins (4-7) were gashed on the ground as they yielded 199 yards rushing. 115 of the Patriots rushing yards came from running back Dion Lewis, who had 112 yards on just 15 carries.
The Dolphins also had difficulty in coverage – AGAIN. Tight end Rob Gronkowski accounted for 82 yards and two touchdowns while the speedy Brandon Cooks totaled 83 yards and one touchdown on six receptions.
Miami was unable to sustain any semblance of offense in the first half. Through two quarters, running backs Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake combined for just 47 yards on 13 carries.
The Dolphins’ lone touchdown in the first half came off of a Patriots miscue, when center Ted Karras snapped the football over Tom Brady’s head. Dolphins safety Reshad Jones picked up the football and sprinted 14 yards for the score.
New England went into the locker room with a 21-10 lead and their 11-point cushion was hardly threatened for the remainder of the contest. The Patriots rattled off 14 more points in the second half to come away with a decisive win over the Dolphins.
Miami’s only other score came in the fourth quarter, when Matt Moore connected with Kenyan Drake on a 17-yard swing pass out of the backfield.
The Dolphins played catch-up all afternoon and abandoned the run game as a result. Miami’s running backs ran the football just 17 times for a total of 58 yards. The Dolphins ran the ball just twice after Williams was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury.
Matt Moore who was filling in for a concussed Jay Cutler put up 215 yards and one touchdown. Unfortunately, he was picked off two times by Patriots defensive backs Stephon Gilmore and Duron Harmon. Moore is now 9-8 as a starting quarterback in Miami.
Miami will go back to the drawing board and attempt to be better prepared next week when they face the Denver Broncos 3-7 Denver Broncos at Hardrock Stadium.
