Pats squish the Fish 38-21

The game today between the 2008 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium saw 61 degrees on a cloudy day, with a slight wind of 10 mph. The Pats won the toss.

On the very first series, the Pats went to work on the ground using Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk, with a couple of quick tosses mixed in here and there. They drove down to the Miami 36 and were faced with a 4th-and-1. Too short for a punt and too far for a FG, they went for it. Miami stacked the line just waiting for Maroney, but Brady instead threw a hitch to TE Benjamin Watson for 10 yards to keep the drive alive. On the very next series, Brady was now faced with 3rd and a long 11. With the Miami linebackers ready to blitz, Brady hit Maroney with a long pass for a 27-yard TD. Eager to answer, Miami threw long on first down, but Ted Ginn dropped the pass – then they proceeded to go 3-and-out. Both defenses tightened up, and these teams traded a series Punts to end the First Quarter 7-0.

To start the Second Quarter, the Pats had driven down to the Miami 34 on a couple of Draws to Faulk. Still working the run, the Pats went to rarely used Kyle Eckel a couple of times, and he eventually scampered in for a 4-yard TD increasing the lead to 14-0. The teams traded Punts again, as Miami did not have any answers during this First Half. They would run with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, but dropped passes and a couple of sacks would soon end the drive. The Pats got the ball back on their own 20 with 2:45 left in the Half. Despite a couple of successful Draws to Maroney, Brady went to the air as time was running out. He hit Wes Welker for 40 yards and then Donte Stallworth for another 23 yards, as he quickly marched the Pats down to the Miami 10 with 1:45 left. He hit Randy Moss on a slant for a short 4 yards and then hit Benjamin Watson in the back of the Endzone for 5 yards when no one was looking. Miami still had 0:43 seconds left, but they were unable to get more than 25 yards, and the Half ended 21-0.

Miami started the Third Quarter with a bang, as Brown ran for 63 yards and the score on the very first play from scrimmage. This gave Miami some hope. Trying to capitalize on the momentum, the Miami D Blitzed and Joey Porter sacked Brady for a 9-yard loss and a Fumble – but Dan Koppen recovered it for NE. Brady then hit Moss for 16 yards, who was smashed by the cornerback causing another Fumble – but as luck would have it, Moss recovered his own Fumble at the Pats 35. Not satisfied, Brady went back to the air and hit Welker for 16 yards and Stallworth for 29 yards. With 9:43 left on the clock in the Third Quarter, the Pats were sitting on the Miami 13. Brady threw a short slant to Maroney for 9 yards and eventually hit Watson again for the score on a drive that lasted almost 7 minutes. After another round of Punts, Miami got the ball back with 4:23 left in the Third Quarter. Despite a nice 38-yard grab by Davone Bess, Miami stuck with the run switching between Williams and Brown. Facing 3-and-Goal on the 8, they gave Williams the ball, who bullrushed for 6 yards but Fumbled himself at the 2. Fortunately, the ball took a funny bounce and Vernon Carey pounced on it in the Endzone for a Miami score. Despite the clear advantage NE had in Time of Possession, Miami hung in there and the Third Quarter ended 28-14.

The teams once again trade Punts to start the final Quarter. With the ball in hand and the game clearly not decided, Brady went back to the air. He hit Maroney for 5 yards, Moss for 14 yards, Stallworth for 16 yards, and finally Welker for 7 yards and the First Down on the Miami 34. The Miami D was frustrated, so on the next play they were hit with a Roughing The Passer penalty bringing the ball down to the 19. Not giving up, they Blitzed again – this time Porter got him, and that was Porter’s 3rd sack of the game. NE had to settle for a 39-yard FG…..but it was BLOCKED…..keeping hopes alive on the Miami sideline. Down 2 scores, Miami went to work. Williams got the ball and ran for 12 yards and then another 10 yards. Chad Pennington also hit David Martin for an 11-yard out. Brown and Lousaka Polite then traded carries driving the ball to the NE 34 with 5:05 left. Facing 4th-and-4, Miami had to go for it. Pennington hit Ginn right between the numbers, but he dropped the ball…..again. Not content to run out the clock, Brady hit Welker for 29 yards at the Miami 36. After another 5-yard penalty to back them up, Brady hit Moss in stride on a 41-yard bomb, making the score 35-14 with 3:39 left in the game. Miami’s hand was forced, as they went for it on a 4-and-9 on their own 21, but gave the ball back to Brady with 2:58 on the clock. Maroney ran the ball for 2 yards, forcing Miami to call a timeout. After Moss plucked one from the air for 7 yards and was forced out of bounds, it was 4-and-1 on the Miami 19. This time Stephen Gostkowski hit the uprights for a 36-yard FG. It was now 38-14 with 2:17 left. With nothing much to lose, Pennington went to the air himself. He hit Bess for 16 yards and then again for 12 yards. He hit Ginn for 6 yards and Anthony Fasano for 10 yards, all along working the sideline to stop the clock and marching down to the NE 4. With 0:44 left to play, Pennington hit Ginn – who did not drop the ball this time – for a 4-yard TD score. With the score now 38-21, Miami recovered the onside kick. Pennington dropped back but hit the turf, as Adalius Thomas sacked him. Not giving up, Pennington hit Ginn again for 25 yards and then scrambled on a QB Draw for 7 yards down to the NE 32 – but there was not enough time to spike the ball. The game ended 38-21.

The Game MVP was Tom Brady, who had 320 yards, 4 TD’s, and a 135 passer rating.

For Miami, Ricky Williams gained 75 yards on 12 carries (6.2 avg), and Ronnie Brown had 133 yards on just 17 carries (7.8 avg). In fact, Miami gained 231 yards on the ground using 5 players – but had only 125 yards in the air. NE had 152 rushing yards and 320 passing yards.

Other game stats:

1. There were no turnovers in this game, despite the ball hitting the turf 5 times.
2. Miami had 4 sacks, and NE had 5 sacks.
3. NE had the ball for 35:47 to Miami’s 24:13.
4. NE was 9-16 on 3rd downs and 1-1 on 4th down.
5. Miami was 6-17 on 3rd downs and 3-5 on 4th downs.
6. NE had 24 1st downs to Miami’s 16.
   

--submitted by Georges Bseraini--