MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tom Brady had his worst game of the year Monday night. In fact, he had his roughest outing in quite some time.

A 59.9 passer rating?

From the player who’s now become the favorite to win the MVP thanks to Carson Wentz’s season-ending knee injury?

It was hard to watch, all the inaccurate throws from Brady, not to mention going 0 for 11 on third down during a 27-20 loss to the Dolphins.

It was so un-Brady-like, and so uncharacteristic of the Patriots offense in general.

But with no Rob Gronkowski, who was serving his one-game suspension, and a Dolphins pass rush that had him a bit spooked, Brady was off his game most of the night.

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No Patriot receiver caught a ball in the first half. Not one. Danny Amendola, Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan were shut out.

That’s OK. If there was a night for Brady to throw up a stinker, toss a couple of interceptions, and lose a game, Monday night was it.

Let’s just say no one will let TB12 off the hook if it happens again when the team heads to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Beating the Steelers is the more important game.

That’s when the AFC’s top seed will likely be on the line.

The Patriots, who dropped to 10-3, will be trying to take down the 11-2 Steelers. If they end with the same record, New England would win the tiebreaker if they manage a head-to-head victory.

The five-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback will have to get back into MVP form, and just toss out last night’s performance, when he went 24 of 43 for 233 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.

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“That was pretty bad. It can’t get any worse than that. We just didn’t make enough plays. It was just a bad night,” said Brady, who hadn’t seen a passer rating that low since the Patriots lost to Denver in the AFC Championship Game in January 2016. “We’ve had a lot of good nights this year. This was a bad night.”

Yes, Hard Rock Stadium continues to be a sore spot for Brady and the Patriots, who left South Florida with their eight-game winning streak halted. Brady is now 7-9 in Miami.

You had a feeling this was going to be a struggle when he went 0 for 4 passing in the first quarter. It was the fourth time in his career that he’d been shut out in the opening quarter. The three other occasions, however, Brady pulled out wins.

Not this time.

“I don’t think there’s any magic potion to take to come down and win (here),” said Brady. “We got behind, tried to battle back, and just couldn’t do it. I wish we played better, but we didn’t. We have to move on and try and play a lot better next week.”

Surely, the Steelers will take notes. The Dolphins did a good job playing Cover 1, taking away the middle of the field and also effectively taking Brady off his spot with an effective pass rush. It’s something the Falcons and Texans have also had some success doing.

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This was the first time Brady’s ever failed to convert on third down, and the first time for New England since 1991, when Coach Dick McPherson and quarterback Hugh Millen led the team.

His two picks were on long balls heaved toward Cooks that were intercepted by Xavien Howard. Both balls were underthrown. Brady came up short with several balls and airmailed a few others.

Asked if the problem was physical or mechanical, he said: “I think it’s a little of everything.”

Not having his best weapon, Gronkowski, didn’t help matters. The Patriots survived a Super Bowl without him, but didn’t pull off the comeback last night.

“He’s a great player. Any time he’s out there helps us,” Brady said of his all-world tight end. “We have some other good players. We try to spread the ball around. We just couldn’t make enough plays. I’ve got to throw the ball better. That’s where it starts.”

The good news? Brady is still in one piece, and he’s always had his way with the Steelers.

Brady, however, wasn’t taking anything for granted. He knows the Patriots have to play better, starting with him.

“It’s a short week. We have a lot to catch up on. We can’t go up there and play as poorly as we did tonight,” said Brady. “We have to do a lot of things better. I certainly have to do a lot of things better. That’s where my focus is going to be.”


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