The Patriots Loss Isn’t As Bad As You Think It Is
The Patriots traveled down to the house of horrors Sunday afternoon for a tilt with division foe Miami Dolphins. With the 34-33 loss, Tom Brady and the Patriots now have only won once down in Miami in the past six tries. Ouch. However; the Patriots struggles in Miami are well documented as Brady is now 7-10 in Miami in his career. But yesterday’s game, that was one of the worst.
The Final Play
Leaving over seven points on the field due to miscues, missed opportunities, and playing one of the worst teams in the league statistically, this loss stings. With the Patriots losing on the “Miracle in Miami”, yesterday seems like a nightmare.
But the one play that people will talking about is the double lateral move the Miami Dolphins took from the Boise State University Broncos.
With :07 left, the Dolphins had the ball at their own 29 yard line. A first and 10 and the Patriots lined up in their hail mary defense. Yes, because a guy with one good leg and one good shoulder can throw the ball 70 yards but that’s besides the point. Only rushing four, Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed a 13 yard pass to Kenny Stills at the 48 yard line. After Stills turns around he laterals the ball back to DaVante Parker. Parker had the ball for maybe a second and lateraled it to Kenyan Drake and the rest is history.
At about the 20 yard line, Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski had a shot to tackle Drake but took one of the worst possible angles for the tackle. And after Drake got around Gronkowski, there was no catching him. Having Gronkowski on the field raised a lot of questions. Did head coach Bill Belichick really think that Tannehill could reach the endzone from his own 29? According to Belichick’s post game press conference; yes. Question the decision all you want because many of us want to.
This Loss Isn’t As Bad As You Think
Even though it was frustrating, it isn’t the end of the world. With the Indianapolis Colts defeating the Houston Texans 24-21. And the Oakland Raiders beating the Pittsburgh Steelers by the same score, the Patriots are still somehow the number two seed in the AFC Playoffs. But for a short period of time, the Kansas City Chiefs looked to be struggling with the Baltimore Ravens and the Patriots were well on their way to a win. If that were to happen, two big things would’ve unfolded. One, the Patriots would’ve won the AFC East, and two, they would’ve had the number one seed in the AFC.
But the Chiefs pulled out the victory and the Patriots blew it. Now New England is two games back and it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that Kansas City has the top seed and homefield. But this loss isn’t as bad as you think because with the Texans AND Steelers losing, the Patriots didn’t lose any ground. New England will travel to Pittsburgh next week to take on a Steelers team that is struggling down the stretch. Again.
– Brian Berard (@RockyBerard)
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