Perry's Report Card: Another day to forget in South Florida
The Dolphins ran all over the Patriots defense on Sunday, and New England's struggles were reflected in Professor Perry's Week 15 Report Card. Here's how each positional group graded out in the loss.
The Patriots went into Miami with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. They didn't need to be perfect against an up-and-coming but still-flawed division rival. They just needed to be sound. Offensively. Defensively. Sound.
They had to -- as one of the longest-standing Patriots mantras goes -- first not lose the game, then try to go win it.
You know by now that they couldn't.
Let's get to the grades for Week 15 . . .
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Cam Newton gave the Patriots more than he's given them in about a month. Still, it wasn't enough for them to sniff the end zone. They made it into the red zone once and were forced to kick a field goal. On third down, the situational football wasn't much better. They were 2-for-9 in those spots.
Newton went 17-for-27 for 209 yards (7.7 yards per attempt), which was his highest totals since a 365-yard passing performance in Houston in Week 11. And his tape will have good-looking throws sprinkled in. For instance, to start the second quarter, he went 6-for-7 on his first seven throws.
But the one incompletion was a near-pick by Kyle Van Noy, and the drive started when an off-the-mark throw from Newton (which could've still been caught) glanced off N'Keal Harry's hands. He hit a 22-yarder on third-and-six during a scramble drill that kept a field-goal drive alive. He also found Jakobi Meyers on a well-timed slant over the middle that sparked the team's third series to end with a field goal.
But two of those drives were stopped in their tracks thanks to Newton. He missed Meyers badly in the back of the end zone and then fumbled on what could've been a more disastrous Miami scoop-and-score had it not been called back. Later he made two poorly-placed throws that led to a hard-to-convert third-and-long that came up just short. Those moments prevented this grade from climbing beyond where it sits.
Newton gave them something on the ground by running nine times for 38 yards. But it's not incredibly complicated: They need more from their passing game if they're to be more efficient. That starts with the quarterback.
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This was about as lively as we've seen Sony Michel in some time. Even in his breakout statistical performance against the Raiders, he appeared to be laboring at times just to pull away from bigger defenders in the open field. But on Sunday he looked elusive. He ran hard. He showed an ability to change direction and accelerate quickly. He only had 10 carries as the Patriots, but he averaged 7.2 per attempt in Damien Harris' absence.
James White got involved as a pass-catcher in this one with four grabs for 52 yards on four targets, including a 21-yarder on a third-down scramble drill. White was in pass protection twice during the last four offensive snaps for the Patriots, and Newton was sacked both times. But both times it looked like Newton had time to get rid of the ball and could not. They were far from free rushers. White just couldn't hold off his assignments forever.
Jakobi Meyers was part of the reason the Patriots had any offense whatsoever. He caught seven of the 10 targets sent his way for 111 yards. But he also fumbled one away. And given the way this offense is constructed, a turnover like that can be a back-breaker. The Dolphins ended up punting on the ensuing possession so it didn't kill them, but it wiped a possible scoring chance off the board.
Both Meyers and Byrd created enough in the way of separation that their numbers could've been better. Byrd finished with just three catches for 24 yards, but he was the target on both wayward Newton throws late in the third quarter that eventually led to a failed third-down conversion and a field goal. Meyers got behind the Dolphins defense on the last play of the second quarter before Newton's almost-scoop-and-score fumble, and could've had a long touchdown had he not been overthrown.
N'Keal Harry was nearly invisible, making one catch for 12 yards and having one third-down attempt glance off his hands in a contested situation.
Devin Asiasi's drop may qualify as a don't-look-at-anyone-but-yourself type of mistake for some. But that ball came out hot from Newton. And it was thrown over his head. Not so far that Asiasi couldn't get his hands on it, but Patriots quarterbacks have been taught to keep it low for players at tight end and running back because their shoulder pads are typically bigger and a little more cumbersome. High throws invite the types of plays like the one the world saw from Asiasi early in the first quarter. It was his only target.
Meanwhile, Dalton Keene saw a significant workload once again with Ryan Izzo still on injured reserve. He was targeted twice. One sailed high when he worked his way toward the goal line deep down the field. The other was caught . . . and promptly fumbled on the final Patriots drive. Luckily for him, James White was there to recover. This group -- now led by two rookies -- continues to provide very little.
This group was solid throughout the course of the afternoon. Especially considering it started two sixth-round rookies -- both of whom were pegged by many as guards -- at the tackle spots. They helped Patriots backs (and Newton) average 5.3 yards per carry, and of the three times when Newton was sacked, only one was a clear win on the part of the Dolphins over the Patriots: Early in the fourth quarter Justin Herron, playing left tackle instead of veteran reserve Jermaine Eluemunor, was beaten cleanly by defensive lineman Zach Sieler. Herron was beaten again on the next play, but Newton stepped up to avoid the pressure and hit Byrd to convert a third-and-15. David Andrews left this one early with a calf injury and was replaced by James Ferentz, who had one snap get away from him upon entering.
Nick Folk was the offense, going four-for-four on field goals. None of them were really ever in doubt off his foot. He's been one of the team's most consistent players on the roster in 2020. He hasn't missed a kick since going sideways on a point-after attempt against Baltimore. He hasn't missed a field goal since Week 2 against the Seahawks.
The rest of the Patriots' special teams units showed up in this one, too. Jake Bailey dropped a 37-yard punt right at the Miami goal line and a tremendous hand-eye-coordination effort from Matthew Slater gave the Dolphins possession at their own two-yard line. And as part of the kick-coverage unit, Kyle Dugger (at the 24) and Justin Bethel (at the 11) made strong tackles pinning the Dolphins inside their own 25.
The Patriots didn't get much from their return game -- Gunner Olszewski returned two punts for 16 yards and opted not to return any kicks -- but this group had a mostly-positive afternoon.
The Dolphins entered the weekend as the league's weakest rushing attack. They averaged 3.6 yards per carry, last in the league. They were 27th in yards per game averaging just over 95 yards total on the ground. And yet! When the Patriots traveled to Miami for a game they had to win in order to keep their hopes alive, they simply could not come up with a key stop against the Dolphins running game when they needed it.
That's why the Patriots defensive line has to come away with a failing grade in this one. They took on an inexperienced line that featured four rookie starters, and they lost more than their fair share of battles leading to some of the abominable numbers.
The Dolphins averaged a whopping 6.0 yards per carry. They picked up more than 2.5 times their season average with 250 yards on the ground, and they ran for three touchdowns in goal-line situations. Making matters worse was the fact that the Patriots had to know the Dolphins were going to come at them on the ground. They were without receivers DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant as well as tight end Mike Gesicki. Their offense was down to spare parts at the skill positions and still they could do nothing about the Dolphins run game.
Take Miami's touchdown drive to start the second half for example. The Dolphins traveled 72 yards on nine plays -- eight of which were runs. Or look at their early fourth-quarter touchdown drive, where eight of their last 11 plays were runs. You get the idea. Bill Belichick's front has seen better days, and now the Patriots are out of playoff contention for the first time in a long time in part because they had one of their worst.
This group had plenty to do with the run-game productivity the Dolphins saw on Sunday afternoon. In particular, they had a heckuva time trying to tackle. I counted 11 missed tackles total for the Patriots in the loss, seven of which came from the linebacker group. Two 'backers -- Anfernee Jennings and Tashawn Bower -- missed tackles on one Lynn Bowden Jr. reverse. Bower had a couple of unsuccessful arm tackles in this one. John Simon missed one tackle. Terez Hall missed one. Shilique Calhoun had an opportunity at a stop at the line of scrimmage but had his attempt walked through.
Hall led the team in tackles with 13 -- including 12 solo -- and he impressed at times with his aggressiveness attacking the line of scrimmage. But he committed a facemask penalty, he got lost in a zone coverage and allowed a big gain to tight end Durham Smythe, and he appeared to get a little over-aggressive on one long Dolphins run when he shot a gap and was easily avoided by running back Salvid Ahmed to start a 14-yard gain.
Chase Winovich had a hit on Tua Tagovailoa that led to a key pick in the low red zone -- which helped keep this grade from sinking further. But Winovich got rolled over in the running game at times in trying to set an edge. He wasn't alone in that regard, but for anyone wondering why Winovich doesn't see the field more on early downs . . . that may be part of the reason why. It's worth noting that early-down linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley left the game early with an arm injury and did not return.
J.C. Jackson was the beneficiary of a gift interception off the hand of Tua Tagovailoa, but a gift still counts. Right place, right time counts. That play saved seven points and kept the Patriots from having to chase early in the game -- typically a bad spot for them this season. Adrian Phillips checked in with an early sack, Kyle Dugger had a pass breakup and three run-stuffs.
This group did have three missed tackles on the afternoon, and Jackson was trampled by Durham Smythe on one catch-and-run play. Jon Jones was on the scene of a long edge run play where it looked like Winovich lost the edge, but then Jones got caught inside and made a long play even longer.
The Patriots didn't have to do much in the secondary against Tagovailoa's arm. He averaged just 5.6 yards per attempt and the team averaged less than five yards per dropback. But the Dolphins didn't need to attack through the air because they were so successful on the ground -- and this group carries some responsibility in that phase.
