The last time the Patriots played the Dolphins, Jacoby Brissett was the starting quarterback. That was Week 5, and Jerod Mayo’s team suffered a disappointing 15-10 loss to the Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley-led Fins.
Drake Maye was named the starter the following week for the Patriots, and has been under center ever since. In Miami meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa, who was on IR with a concussion, returned.
With those two at the helm, both offenses improved.
Heading into Sunday’s Week 12 matchup, the Patriots were averaging 20 points per game with Maye. The Dolphins meanwhile were averaging 27.8 points per game with Tagovailoa.
How did Maye fare?
With no help, no discipline from the offensive line, and no protection, not well. The Patriots have historically struggled in games in Miami. But this 34-15 loss to the Dolphins went above and beyond the usual.
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Maye: For much of this game, the Patriots were nothing short of an embarrassment. Little of that disaster was of Maye’s doing, although two second-half turnovers didn’t help the cause.
He did what he could. In between the mess, there were moments he shined. He made another impossible play on the run, somehow hitting Austin Hooper with a 38-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-15 early in the fourth quarter.
It was a stunning delivery, and his 10th touchdown pass of the season, hitting pay dirt with his 10th different receiver. Too bad that only made it 31-7 at the time.
It was an uphill battle for Maye thanks to sloppy, undisciplined play – mostly from his offensive line.
In the first half alone, seven penalties were called against the offense, six were accepted.
Left tackle Vederian Lowe was responsible for four of those (three false starts, holding).
DeMontrey Jacobs, who was eventually benched in the fourth quarter, had a holding penalty and false start. Worse, he was largely a turnstile trying to block Chop Robinson.
It didn’t get much better in the second half with this crew.
Maye, who finished 22of-37 for 221 yards with touchdown and pick, moved the ball, only to have drives killed by penalties and an offensive line that was completely overmatched.
The rookie quarterback was constantly running for his life, or didn’t have time to move thanks to free rushers bearing in on him. He once again had a costly strip-sack fumble, that coming in the third quarter. He also threw a pick, not getting enough on the ball trying to elude an unblocked rusher.
They were mistakes, for sure. But he wasn’t the problem in this game.
Maye had no time to throw practically every drop back. His offensive line, the tackles in particular, were overmatched. He was constantly faced with long yardage, converting just 1-of-6 chances on third down in the first half alone. It didn’t improve in the second half, with Maye converting just 3-of-14 on third down overall.
He was sacked twice in the opening half, and four times in the game. He withstood eight hits from a Miami defense that had its way with the line.
Maye engineered one good drive in that miserable first half, amid a sea of three-and-outs. But Joey Slye missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. That would have given the Patriots a 3-0. It went downhill from there on both sides of the ball. They trailed 24-0 at halftime.
The had a brief spurt in the second half, but the story had already been told.
