The Patriots were staring at a flat, messy first half in Miami Gardens and needed something to jolt the whole operation. They got it from Kevin Byard.
Trailing the one-win Dolphins 13-3 at halftime, New England had only 97 yards of offense to show for a rainy road trip that featured a lost fumble, a missed field goal, a three-and-out and three sacks. But after the break, the Patriots flipped the script and walked out with a 24-19 win.
Mike Vrabel said at halftime that New England needed a change in its mentality, and that shift showed up in the fourth quarter when Byard picked off a misdirected pass for his first interception as a Patriot.
The offense still had to fight through some early second-half frustration. A one-yard Drake Maye scramble and a three-yard Rhamondre Stevenson run set up a third-and-six, but Maye couldn’t find an open target and Dolphins outside linebacker Chop Robinson got to him for his second sack of the game.
From there, the Patriots’ defense took over for a stretch. New England forced Miami into back-to-back three-and-outs, and the offense turned both stops into touchdowns.
First, Maye hit Kyle Williams deep for a 43-yard score after the ensuing punt. Then the Patriots put together a 73-yard drive that ended with Maye keeping the ball on a fake pitch-option and diving into the end zone, putting New England ahead 17-13.
Miami managed its first first down since the opening half on the next possession, but the Patriots were waiting for the next mistake. Five plays into that drive, Malik Willis threw a pass that deflected off DaQuan Jones’s helmet and floated 27 yards downfield into Byard’s hands.
“[I’m] happy for ‘KB,’” Christian Gonzalez said. “He got his first one of the year.
It [generated] good momentum. We talked about it all week.
We wanted to come in and break that [turnover] drought, get some picks, get some interceptions, and hopefully take that rolling.”
Two plays later, Maye found DeMario Douglas on the right sideline, and Douglas turned it into a 48-yard touchdown by adding 30 yards after the catch. That pushed the lead to 24-13.
“We have to be able to tip passes [and] affect a quarterback,” Vrabel said. “We had the unfortunate [Efton Chism III] fumble there.
The defense did a heck of a job in sudden change. So, the more that we can turn the football over, that makes a huge difference, especially on the road, and then the offense to be able to capitalize.”
Byard, 33, arrived in New England with a reputation for finding the football. He’s a three-time First-Team All-Pro and had a league-leading seven takeaways through the air for the Chicago Bears in 2025, which helped make him a priority signing for the Patriots this offseason.
“It felt excellent. I finally got the monkey off my back to be able to get my first [takeaway] this year,” Byard said. “It was in a big spot, too, because we were able to go up two scores … Hopefully this is just a sign of more to come.”
He also pointed to the defense’s emphasis on creating turnovers, even though New England entered the game with only seven forced turnovers in seven games, good for 20th in the NFL.
That focus had been building since the early days of training camp. Byard challenged the safeties after the defense had just one turnover through the first six practices of the summer, and later that same day Dell Pettus grabbed the defense’s second interception of camp.
Even with Miami scoring a touchdown in the final two minutes of the first half, the Patriots’ defense kept the game within reach long enough for the offense to recover. Byard’s interception came with Miami having converted only two first downs on its eight possessions to that point, and New England’s defensive line also did major work, sacking Willis five times and making it hard for the Dolphins to stay on schedule.
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