The Patriots got the result they needed against Miami on Sunday, but the way they got there left plenty to chew on. New England escaped the Dolphins with a rainy 24-19 win, moved to 5-3 through eight weeks, and picked up its third divisional victory of the season. Still, the final score did a better job of hiding the stress than the game itself.
This rivalry has a habit of turning messy, and Sunday fit the pattern. Miami has given New England trouble for years, including in the 2020s when the Dolphins led the series 8-5.
The Dolphins swept the Patriots in 2021, then did it again in 2023 and 2024. New England flipped that script in 2025 with a sweep of its own, capped by a 38-10 Week 18 blowout, and Sunday’s win extended the Patriots’ streak to three.
Even with the victory, the Patriots were working with a thin margin because of the roster around Drake Maye. Injuries left the offense short on options.
After elevating Ryan Miller, New England had only four receivers available. When Hunter Henry went down, rookies Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin were forced into the tight end spots.
That lack of firepower made every possession matter, which is why the Patriots’ clock management stood out so much. The decisions at the end of both halves helped keep Miami in the game, and one choice in the fourth quarter nearly turned the whole thing upside down.
Mike Vrabel’s aggressiveness has been a feature of this team since the start of 2025, and the numbers have backed it up. The Patriots ranked second in fourth-down conversion rate last season and fourth in 2026, with a 76.9% success rate compared with 72.4% the year before. On Sunday, that boldness showed up again when catches by Efton Chism and Pop Douglas helped New England convert both of its fourth-down tries.
There was logic behind the approach. The offense needed to “steal a possession” whenever it could, especially with so little help around Maye.
Andy Borregales also missed a 40-yard field goal, which didn’t exactly inspire confidence in playing it safe. But the same aggressiveness that made sense in spots also created problems.
The first came just before halftime. Gabe Jacas sacked Malik Willis on second down, setting up 3rd & 8 from the Dolphins’ own 32-yard line with Miami ahead 6-3. New England used a timeout to give Maye a shot at pushing the ball downfield before the break.
That decision backfired quickly. On the next play, Greg Dulcich caught a 19-yard pass, and Miami turned that into a touchdown drive that stretched the lead to two possessions before halftime.
With a healthy receiver group and better weather, the timeout might have been defensible. But given how the Patriots had looked in the first half, letting the clock bleed closer to a minute would have been the smarter move.
At that point, Miami likely would have run the ball to drain time, and New England could have used its timeout then. If the Dolphins had converted, they might have settled for a field goal with less time left.
Instead, the Patriots gave them a cleaner path to points.
The bigger mistake came late in the fourth quarter. With 4:20 left and New England leading 24-13, the Patriots faced 3rd & 5.
Miami had already burned its second timeout on the previous play and was down to one. In that situation, a run made the most sense.
The clock was on New England’s side, the rain was coming down, and the Patriots had multiple ways to benefit from simply handing the ball off.
A first down would have let them keep bleeding the clock. Even if they didn’t convert, the Dolphins would have lost another chunk of time.
And if Miami used its last timeout after the play, New England still would have had the ball back with under four minutes to play and a two-possession lead. A run also could have set up a manageable fourth down if the gain left them short but close.
Instead, Eli Raridon dropped the pass. The clock stopped, the Patriots punted, and Miami kept its timeout. The Dolphins scored before the two-minute warning and cut the margin to five after failing on the two-point try.
New England still had to finish the job after the onside kick, and it did. Facing 3rd & 5 with a chance to close it out, the Patriots handed the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson up the middle, and he picked up the first down to seal the win.
The outcome was right, but the process was rough. New England can probably get away with those mistakes against Miami and still survive.
Against better opponents, that kind of clock management can flip a game in a hurry. With the skill-position group already stretched thin, the Patriots can’t afford to give away possessions or time.
They’ll need cleaner execution soon enough. New England hosts the Packers next before heading to Germany to face the Lions. Those two teams bring a combined 10-5 record, and both figure to be a much tougher test than Miami.
For Drake Maye, the help has to come from everywhere it can. That starts with the coaching staff making the right calls when the game is on the line.
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