Turnovers plague offense as Patriots struggles in Miami opener

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Patriots seldom have fun in South Florida. The place that was home to the "Miami Miracle" and 40 other losses has rarely made happy memories for Bill Belichick and his Patriots team.

To better prepare for the game, Belichick brought his team to Florida early in the week  in an attempt to become more acclimated to the  heat and humidity. It was certainly humid on Sunday as the feel-like temperature hit 103 degrees at kickoff.

Unfortunately, the extended week in  Florida didn’t help. Instead, the regular-season opener ended in  yet another bad memory for Belichick as the Dolphins handed the Patriots a frustrating 20-7 loss on Sunday.

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"Not enough good things to win," said Belichick. "A couple bad plays really hurt us. Need to finish some drives better on both sides of the ball and make an impact. Just build on this and go back to work."

The Patriots were guilty of multiple turnovers, there were zero Dolphins turnovers and one costly mistake by the Pats defense. Mac Jones finished 21 of 30 for 213 yards with a touchdown and interception. Nothing went right for the Patriots.

Here’s how it all went down.

Patriots offensive struggled

The Patriots first offensive drive of the season started promisingly. It ended with an interception.

After receiving the opening kickoff, Jones and his group marched down the Hard Rock Stadium field with a nice blend of run and pass plays. The first seven Patriots plays of the season were all positive as the offense soon found itself in scoring range. Despite starting the drive averaging 6.3 yards per carry and Jones going 3-for-3 for 28 yards, the quarterback exited the turf in anger after throwing an interception to Jevon Holland at 10:05 of the first quarter.

Jones targeted DeVante Parker in the end zone, but cornerback Xavien Howard batted the pass away and Holland caught the ball for the turnover. Jones and Parker argued with the officials as it appeared that Parker was held.  The Dolphins turned the interception into a 3-0 lead when Jason Sanders hit a 43-yard field goal at 4:05 of the first quarter.

“I didn’t think I was (interfered with). He got his hand up and Javon picked it off,” said Parker. “I should’ve high pointed it. I just didn’t… I just kind of misjudged it.”

The Patriots' second drive resulted in a punt. This series was marred by poor offensive line play. Jones was sacked by Emmanuel Ogbah for a loss of seven. The next play saw a Ty Montgomery handoff go for a loss of two. The Pats couldn’t get out that third-and-19 hole before calling for punter Jake Bailey.

The third Patriots series was the worst of them all. The second snap of the drive resulted in Jones being strip-sacked by Dolphins safety Brandon Jones. Dolphins linebacker Melvin Ingram picked the ball up and went two yards for the touchdown to give Miami a 10-0 lead at 7:34 of the second quarter. No one on the Pats picked up the safety blitz and Jones hit the Patriots quarterback without being touched.

The Patriots' final drive of the first half resulted in another punt. It was another disappointing drive as Jakobi Meyers made a 27-yard highlight-reel catch to move the chains on third down. Two plays later, however, Rhamondre Stevenson was dropped for a loss of four yards. That brought up a third-and-12 and the Pats couldn’t convert.

“Strip sack for a fumble. Another interception and fumble – turnovers. It’s hard to get in a rhythm when you don’t have the football,” said David Andrews.

Patriots offense never found a rhythm

The Patriots first points of the 2022 season came with 4:44 left in the third quarter. This series was a grind: 15 plays that spanned 92 yards and ate up 8:21 of the clock.

Jones and his group slowly marched downfield as Meyers came up with a big third-down conversion (12-yard catch) to move the chains on third-and-5. The team wasn’t successful on the next third down, but converted on fourth-and-1 due to an illegal contact penalty on Miami. A Jonnu Smith 15-yard catch and run set up a first-and-goal.

Three plays later, Jones hit Ty Montgomery for a 6-yard touchdown and the Patriots trailed 17-7.

The Pats weren’t able to continue the momentum following the touchdown.

The next offensive series ended in another punt. The problem here was similar as Jones got hit on a third-down throw by Ogbah. The next series was much of the same. Montgomery was stuffed at the line on third-and-3. The Pats stayed on the field for fourth down, but Jones’ attempt fell incomplete as it was batted down by cornerback Kader Kohou with 9:46 remaining.

The next drive brought about more pain. The Pats were moving, thanks to a 41-yard catch from Kenrick Bourne. Two plays later, Nelson Agholor fumbled and Miami's Jaelan Phillips recovered with 5:06 left on the clock.

“That we have a good football team. We moved the ball, but kind of shot ourselves in the foot,” said Hunter Henry. “We had bad mistakes. We can’t have a free rusher backed up (near the end zone). A pick on the first drive… We didn’t execute good enough.”

Defense was strong, but one mistake hurt

The Patriots defense looked solid early on. Their team speed was evident with Kyle Dugger and Jonathan Jones flying around the field. The group allowed a field goal following Jones’ interception, but forced a punt the next time Tua Tagovailoa touched the ball.

The group played well except for one costly miscue.

On a fourth-and-7 play, Tagovailoa hit Jaylen Waddle for a 42-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left in the first half. That devastating blow put the Dolphins up, 17-0. To make it worse, the Pats had Miami in a third-and-19 situation with 31 seconds left on the clock.

Tagovailoa hit Cedrick Wilson for 12 yards and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel kept his offense on the field and the gamble paid off. On the play, Waddle beat Mills for the catch. Dugger and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley failed to make the tackle, colliding with each other, as Waddle ran into the end zone.

"Terrible angle by me," said Dugger. "Bad eyes. I didn't locate the defense. I didn't do my job, basically. Really bad job by me. Corners trust in me to be in the middle of the field. It was definitely on me. Bad play."

The defense opened the second half with a three-and-out, thanks to Dugger. The safety dropped Tyreek Hill for a loss of a yard on third-and-1.

After the Patriots scored their touchdown in the third quarter, the Dolphins did a good job of responding and that resulted in a 49-yard field goal by Sanders. The kick put Miami up, 20-7, with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.

Following that field goal, the unit held Miami to a three-and-out to give the offense another opportunity to attempt to get back on track. It just never did.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Takeaways from the Patriots season opener against the Miami Dolphins