The New England Patriots went into Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins hoping to finally turn their season around after a difficult year. However, their 34-15 loss in Miami showed just how much work they still need to do before they can truly make that claim.
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye had a tough time processing the game afterward but did share a message with his teammates.
“I told some guys, just remember this feeling of really getting our butts whooped today, and it’s only up from here,” Maye said.
There were a lot of mistakes for the Patriots (3-9) to think about after their third loss in four games.
The main issue was self-inflicted mistakes, like committing 10 penalties for 75 yards, which left them playing from behind for most of the game.
Maye completed 22 of 37 passes for 221 yards and rushed for 26 yards, but he also made a costly mistake in the third quarter when he was strip-sacked, leading to a Miami touchdown. This was his seventh turnover in the past three games.
The Patriots’ defense also had major problems, allowing Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to throw for 317 yards and four touchdowns, completing 29 of 40 passes.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said his team knew they would have to face some tough film sessions this week, with only one game left before their bye week, against Indianapolis.
“Those are those hard meetings where you have to address the elephant in the room, but it’s no secret,” he said. “The good thing about the sport, it’s all recorded. You can go back and forth on it, but the film doesn’t lie.”
