FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ losing streak is over. So is the Miami Dolphins’ undefeated start.
Tom Brady threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, and New England handed Miami its first loss in a 38-7 rout Sunday.
It denied the Dolphins (3-1) their first 4-0 start since Hall of Fame coach Don Shula’s last season in 1995.
“I thought we got what we needed from our team today,” Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said.
Brady improved to 15-1 as a starter against Miami.
“We hadn’t played well in the last weeks,” Brady said. “This game’s great, but you’ve got to turn the page.”
New England (2-2) may be doing that without one of its best players. Tight end Rob Gronkowski, one of Brady’s favorite targets, left the game in the third quarter with a right ankle injury and didn’t return.
It put a slight damper on an afternoon in which New England showed the kind of consistency on both sides of the ball that was missing in back-to-back losses to Jacksonville and Detroit. Since 2002, the Patriots are 8-0 after back-to-back losses.
In its two losses, New England’s offense struggled to find its rhythm and sustain drives on third down.
It did both Sunday.
Running back James White finished with a rushing and receiving touchdown. Rookie running back Sony Michel also rushed 25 times for 112 yards and his first career touchdown. It was perfect timing after Rex Burkhead went on injured reserve last week with a neck injury.
Miami struggled in every phase and looked very much like the team that has lost 10 straight road games to New England.
Ryan Tannehill finished 11 of 20 for 100 yards and an interception. He was pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Brock Osweiler. Osweiler connected with Frank Gore for a 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for Miami’s lone score.
“Not a lot went right for us,” Tannehill said.
Miami was just 3 of 11 on third down and managed only 172 yards. The Dolphins also had two turnovers and were called for 10 penalties, totaling 89 yards
Miami had a strong start on defense, intercepting Brady on New England’s second offensive series.
But following a Miami punt, the Pats bounced back with a 55-yard TD pass from Brady to Cordarrelle Patterson to take a 10-0 lead.
It was New England’s longest play of the season. Patterson caught the pass over his shoulder along the sideline and stutter-stepped past safety T.J. McDonald to find a clear path to the end zone.
About midway through the second quarter, Tannehill fumbled a snap to begin a series that was recovered by Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy on the Dolphins’ 22. White ran it in on the next play to make it 17-0 .
The Patriots then ended the half with a 15-play, 85-yard drive capped by an acrobatic grab in the end zone by Phillip Dorsett.
Receiver Josh Gordon, in his Pats debut, had two catches for 32 yards.
“I have no doubt I can take advantage of this opportunity,” Gordon said. “I’m more than blessed, I’m extremely grateful to be in this scenario. I think the only thing right for me to do is take advantage of it.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.