Dolphins at Patriots final score and immediate reactions

The Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots took the field in their Week 2 contest this afternoon, with the Patriots coming away with the win. As we do every week, we kept track of our thoughts throughout the game as it happened, running through the plays and reactions from throughout the game.

Final Score

Patriots 31-24

First Half

• Patriots getting the ball first.
• Why is Byron Maxwell giving a 12-yard cushion on 3rd-and-9. Not surprisingly, the Patriots convert.
• Does the defense know the game has started?
• Touchdown. Jimmy Garoppolo to Danny Amendola. Patriots 7-0.
• That was bad. Just....bad.
• 3rd down, pass to Jordan Cameron. Can’t make the catch. Anyone surprised? Dolphins punting.
• Byron Maxwell continuing to give a huge cushion, the Patriots keep going with the short, quick passes. Something had to change.
• Jimmy Garropolo is 7-for-7. Need the pass rush to show up.
• 8-for-8. 7-11 is always open.
• Touchdown. Garoppolo to Martellus Bennett. Patriots 14-0.
• The good thing? Garappolo did throw an incomplete pass.
• When you lose yards on a quarterback sneak, things are not exactly going well.
• Punt.
• Dolphins still cannot figure out how to stop the Patriots. No one is covering receivers anywhere on the field.
• Kiko Alonso with the almost sack. Does that count as a good play?
• Oh, holding on the almost sack. Now 1st-and-20 for New England.
• End of the first quarter. Thankfully.
• The defense looks miserable. There is no life in them and they seem ready to quit.
• Touchdown. Garoppolo to Amendola. Patriots 21-0.
• Kenyan Drake back for the kickoff return. Brings it out from 5-yards deep. Gets to the 10 yard line. A touchback would have started the team at the 25.
• Ryan Tannehill cannot hear the plays in his helmet....in New England. Not saying anything....
• Did the Dolphins just try to go deep on a 3rd-and-5, throwing to Jordan Cameron? Bet you can’t guess the result.
• Punt.
• Wow. The Patriots are punting. Is this allowed? Of course, it took a Garoppolo overthrow to make it happen.
• Tannehill to DeVante Parker deep. Parker gets it in his hands....and it is jarred loose on the hit.
• Jay Ajayi getting the carry.
• 3rd-and-6, Anthony Steen snaps the ball before Tannehill is even looking. 20 yard loss. Because....why not.
• Cameron Wake with the sack....just kidding. Xavien Howard illegal hands to the face and the Patriots get a 1st down on 3rd down.
• FUMBLE! Kiko Alonso with the recovery after Amendola reception and Bobby McCain strip.
• Fumble. Jarvis Landry tries to pick up extra yards, and gets stripped. Chris Long with the recovery.
• Arian Foster questionable to return with a groin injury.
• Kiko Alonso hist Garoppolo just as he throws the ball and Garoppolo lands on his throwing shoulder. Appears to be in a lot of pain. Jacoby Brissett warming up.
• Field goal. Patriots extend lead to 24-0.
• Jay Ajayi coming out looking good on this drive. Picking up yards on the ground and in the air. With Foster injury, this is Ajayi’s chance to re-gain the coaches’ confidence.
• Interception. Tannehill had pressure up the middle, tried to get rid of it and instead throws the pick.
• Dolphins suddenly moving the ball.
• Nice catch by Dion Sims.
• And another nice play. 25-yards to Jarvis Landry. Tannehil throwing the ball well here.
• Field Goal. Dolphins settle for three as the half ends.
• Patriots lead 24-3 at the half.

Second Half.

• Dolphins getting the ball first.
• Garoppolo officially ruled out of the game. Foster does not appear to be coming back for the Dolphins.
• First play from scrimmage. Holding on Kenny Stills. Good to see things will be different in this half.
• 11-yard gain Tannehill to Cameron. Protection showing up.
• 8-yard gain Tannehill to Landry.
• 3rd-and-1. Tannehill to Parker for 13-yards.
• Foster ruled out.
• Tannehill to Parker for 14.
• And Ajayi fumbles. Patriots recover. Of course. Tannehill finding a rhythm and the offense finds another way to jack it up.
• Bobby McCain called for the unnecessary roughness, sets up 1st-and-goal. Dumb play by McCain.
• Touchdown. LaGarrette Blount 9-yard carry. 31-3 Patriots.
• Great catch from DeVante Parker. Need this earlier in games now.

• TOUCHDOWN!!!! The Dolphins finally put up a touchdown with a Tannehill to Kenny Stills 24-yard pass. Beautifully dropped into the route by Tannehill. Still down big. 31-10 Patriots.
• Dolphins offense has shown up - way late, but it appears to be here - but the defense is still allowing way too much.
• Jason Jones sack!
• Ndamukong Suh with the tackle for a loss.
• Maybe they are finally showing up.
• And a referee just collapsed. He gets attention and stands up and walks off the field. Very odd.
• Jarvis Landry for 33 yards on a wheel route. Another good throw from Tannehill.
• And again to Landry, who runs through a tackle and over another. He is pumped.
• End of the 3rd. 31-10 New England still.
• Dolphins looking deep, Tannehill lays it out for Parker, who is tripped up. Pass interference at the 12.
• TOUCHDOWN! Tannehill to Cameron! Patriots still led 31-17.
• When Ndamukong Suh is chasing a running back 41 yards down the field, it's not good.
• Great sack by Michael Thomas on the cornerback blitz. Forces a fumble. Patriots get it back.
• Patriots punting.
• Jordan Cameron with another reception. Did he finally find his hands? 7 yard gain.
• Jarvis Landry with the catch for 5 yards.
• DeVante Parker with the catch for the first down. Tannehill threw it through three defenders. 13 yards.
• Jarvis Landry with the catch across the middle for 15 yards
• Jay Ajayi with the catch for 5 yards.
• Kenny Stills for 15 yards.
• Tannehill scrambles for six yards.
• TOUCHDOWN! Kenyan Drake with his first NFL TD! 7-yard run and this is interesting now. 31-24 Patriots.
• All three quarterbacks (Tannehill, Garoppolo, and Brissett) have passer ratings over 100 right now.
• The Dolphins defense is being run over right now. Toss sweep, sweep, up the middle, quarterback sneak, whatever. It does not matter what the Patriots are doing. Need to get the ball back for the offense, and they are letting the Patriots just drain the clock.
• AND THEN THE PATRIOTS MISS THE FIELD GOAL! There’s a chance here.
• 20 yards to Parker.
• Incomplete. 38 seconds.
• Tannehill runs for 17 yards.
• Tannehill spike. 19 seconds
• Landry for 5 yards. 15 seconds
• Incomplete to Stills. 9 seconds
• Interception in the end zone. Ball game.

Immediate Reactions

What a comeback from the Dolphins. After a first half that was simply miserable, the team somehow battled back. Yes, the loss of Garoppolo for the Patriots changed the game, but the Dolphins offense kept battling and somehow made this a game. Ryan Tannehill finished the game 32-for-45 for 389 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. That last pick dropped him to a 93.7 passer rating, but he looked really, really good in that second half. Basically, the team has to find their rhythm on offense a lot earlier, and the defense has to be able to stop the run if they are going to improve over the next 14 games. Great comeback, and a lot more interesting game than it looked like at halftime. It’s still a loss, but at least it was not 31-3 or something.