MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins showed the kind of fight that was lacking in their opener.
Tua Tagovailoa was nearly perfect most of the day.
None of it was enough to prevent the Dolphins from falling to 0-2 with a 33-27 loss to the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium.
The loss was all but assured with two minutes left when Tagovailoa threw a desperation pass on fourth-and-9 from the Miami 48 that was intercepted by linebacker Marcus Mapu.
Ex-UM kicker Andy Borregales followed by kicking a 53-yard field goal with 1:47 left for the six-point difference, which meant the Dolphins needed a touchdown to win.
That’s when both teams committed the kind of errors that can lose ballgames.
The Patriots failed to work on the clock after the interception.
Following the field goal, the Dolphins thought they had a 44-yard touchdown on a pass to De’Von Achane, but replays showed he stepped out of bounds. The Dolphins still had the ball on the Patriots’ 26, but the drive was doomed by consecutive penalties. A false start, followed by a delay of game, put the Dolphins in a down-and-distance bind that proved to be too much.
Tagovailoa was sacked by prized free-agent signing Milton Williams, who got by Kion Smith, on a last-gasp fourth-down play with 48 seconds left. A kneel-down sealed it.
Here are the takeaways:
Tua Tagovailoa bounces back in a big way
Tagovailoa received plenty of criticism for his three-turnover performance in the opener against Indianapolis.
Talk about rebounding …
Tagovailoa completed 26 of 32 passes for 315 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Tagovailoa showed spunk to start the game. On Miami’s third snap, he threw an ill-advised pass over the middle that was intercepted by safety Jaylinn Hawkins. But Patriots linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson jumped offside and Dolphins guard Kion Smith held, resulting in offsetting penalties and giving Tagovailoa a shot at a fresh start.
He obviously capitalized.
Tagovailoa’s receivers don’t look bad, either
Receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill had the kind of days the Dolphins would love to duplicate all year.
Waddle scored an 18-yard touchdown in the second quarter to wake up the Dolphins, who’d fallen behind 12-0.
But Waddle continued a trend he set last year by skipping his “waddle” celebration.
Hill, subject of much talk during the week thanks to his estranged wife’s divorce filing, backed up his assertion that he can separate on- and off-field issues.
Waddle finished with five receptions for 68 yards. Hill had six catches for 109.
There were multiple times that both receivers gained massive separation against the Patriots’ secondary.
So here’s the question: Can Waddle and Hill duplicate it on “Thursday Night Football” when Miami visits Buffalo for a much tougher test?
Tale of two penalties that can be killers …
The Dolphins aren’t good enough to overcome ill-timed, needless mistakes.
Two cases in point:
In the second quarter, with Miami desperate to finally make a stop, the Patriots faced a second-and-25 situation near midfield following a holding penalty. Rookie cornerback Jason Marshall was flagged for illegal contact, handing New England a first down and a get-out-of-jail-free card. It helped the Patriots get a field goal via a 15-play drive that gobbled up 9 1/2 minutes.
The Dolphins answered with a 77-yard drive that ended with Tagovailoa hitting Achane with a pass over the middle, enabling Achane to split the defense before spinning his way into the end zone to complete a 29-yard play. The Dolphins lined up to go for two to tie the score at 15. Perfect, right? Wrong. Left tackle Patrick Paul had the slightest of flinches, pushing Miami back 5 yards and resulting in Mike McDaniel changing his mind and kicking the extra point.
… but Patriots know the feeling
New England’s protection had a tough time with Miami’s pressure in the second half.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks sacked Drake Maye in the third quarter, and never mind that Brooks was being held by running back TreVeyon Henderson.
That forced a punt — except safety Jaylinn Hawkins dragged Matthew Judon down, which may have been a good play on Hawkins’ part because Judon may have blocked the punt.
That pushed the Patriots back to their own 4 and led to an announcer’s curse. CBS’ Jason McCourty said it’s unlikely that punter Bryce Baringer would blast an 80-yarder from his own end zone.
Baringer unleashed a 71-yarder.
This and that …
The Dolphins held a moment of silence before the game that the P.A. announcer said would be dedicated to the late Charlie Kirk, victims of 9/11 and victims of violence. … Honorary captains were Hall of Fame offensive linemen Larry Little and Dwight Stephenson. … Fifty-three seconds into the second half, the Dolphins burned a timeout. You read that right. … Linebacker Willie Gay Jr., who impressed in training camp, finally got an opportunity and made back-to-back tackles, including one for a 5-yard loss.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 5 Instant Takeaways: Miami Dolphins fall to 0-2 after loss to New England Patriots | Habib
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
