Well, that was easy.
The Patriots needed only three plays to go 70 yards for an opening touchdown.
Rhamondre Stevenson had back-to-back carries of 9 and 56 yards to get the Patriots to the Miami 5, but after doing all the heavy lifting, he did not get a chance for the score.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson scored on the next play. It was the eighth rushing touchdown for Henderson.
Drake Maye has yet to throw a pass . . . and might not have to at this rate.
The Dolphins will finish the season without running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Both are inactive for Miami for today’s season finale against the Patriots.
Achane was doubtful with a shoulder injury, and Waddle was questionable with injured ribs.
Achane rushed for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 67 passes for 488 yards and four scores, numbers that should get him consideration for second-team All-Pro. Waddle had 64 receptions for 910 yards and six touchdowns.
The Dolphins’ other inactives are quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback Cam Miller, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (calf), linebacker Chop Robinson (concussion) and offensive lineman Austin Jackson (back/groin). Tagovailoa will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Patriots’ inactives are offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, offensive guard Caedan Wallace, quarterback Tommy DeVito, outside linebacker Harold Landry (knee), inside linebacker Robert Spillane (ankle), nose tackle Khyiris Tonga (foot) and offensive guard Jared Wilson (concussion). DeVito will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
Last January, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Raiders are “Tom’s show now.”
One year later, if The Tom Brady Show were playing somewhere on the strip, the curtain would fall for good.
But owners can’t be fired. And Brady is an owner of the Raiders. Primary owner Mark Davis specifically sold a slice of the team to Brady at a below-market rate to stabilize the team. After Brady’s first full season on the job, the Raiders are less stable than dry dynamite in the trunk of a three-wheeled Toyota.
Brady has managed, somehow, to avoid widespread scrutiny for the current condition of the team. That won’t last. The time is now for him to make a move.
And with an infusion of Patriot DNA dramatically altering the situation in New England, where two years of 4-13 have become 13-3 and the first division title since Brady’s last year in the building, Brady may be thinking about bringing a little Beantown to Sin City.
The obvious choice would be offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But that act has already played, and failed, in Vegas. There’s a rumor currently making the rounds that, once Brady rolls up his sleeves (while also wearing one glove and an expensive-ass watch), he’ll make the case for bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
As the chatter goes, Flores would be the head coach, and former Giants coach Brian Daboll would be the offensive coordinator. Like Flores, Daboll has extensive experience with the Patriot Way. Daboll was there for the first three Super Bowl wins of the Brady/Belichick era, and for two of the second trio of championships.
Brady and Flores are believed to have a good relationship. Flores was among those in Miami who wanted to bring Brady to town after his time in Tampa.
That said, the Brian Flores lawsuit blew up the revised plan to pair Brady with Sean Payton, an effort that resulted in a massive tampering punishment, including the loss of a first-round pick, a $1.5 million fine, and a six-week suspension of owner Stephen Ross.
The Flores lawsuit is still pending. For some teams (including those who are named defendants to the case — Giants, Broncos, Texans, and Dolphins) that would be an issue. For a team like the Raiders, which has a history of litigation against the league, it may not matter. Especially after the manner in which someone saw fit to force out coach Jon Gruden in 2021.
From a coaching standpoint, Flores fits with the widespread trend of finding a coach who is the exact opposite of the last guy. Carroll is a rah-rah, player-friendly coach. Flores is no-nonsense and Belichickian.
Really, Flores may be the closest thing to Belichick (other than McDaniels) currently in the league. If it really is The Tom Brady Show in Las Vegas, Flores & Daboll could be the next Siegfried & Roy.
Before things went awry, that is.
The Patriots have key members of their offensive and defensive line back on the active roster.
Left tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams were both activated from injured reserve on Saturday. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said at his Friday press conference that he expected both of those moves to happen ahead of Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Campbell has missed the last four games with a knee injury. The first-round pick started the first 12 games of the season.
Williams spent five games on injured reserve due to an ankle injury. He had 27 tackles and 3.5 sacks in the first 11 weeks.
The Patriots waived defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms. They also elevated offensive lineman Brenden Jaimes and defensive lineman Leonard Taylor from the practice squad.
With the Dolphins hiring ESPN’s Troy Aikman to serve as a consultant for the coming G.M. hire, coach Mike McDaniel’s status naturally falls even further into question, given Aikman’s strong criticism of McDaniel’s handling of the fourth quarter of a Week 15 loss to the Steelers.
On Friday, McDaniel was asked by reporters whether he and Aikman have cleared the air.
“No, that stuff doesn’t hit me,” McDaniel said, via a transcript distributed by the team. “When I signed up for this job, this just in and when things work, people will applaud. When they don’t work, they’ll have critiques. And if I expect anything else, that’s a level of entitlement that doesn’t really hit me correctly. It’s kind of the nature of the biz. So you’re telling me he didn’t like us not scoring points and taking up too much time? Neither did I, that was not the intent. He’s doing his job, and when I signed up for this job it was inherent that results will dictate all narratives regardless of if things were good, bad or whatever. It doesn’t bother me in the least. As a matter of fact, I think it would be funny if it did.”
McDaniel also expressed support for the organization’s decision to rely on Aikman as a consultant.
“I think Troy Aikman speaks for himself in terms of his relationships that he’s had within the National Football League and knows a lot of things,” McDaniel said. “Information is a positive to me and being able to resource that, I think we’re fortunate. I’m excited for that. As far as everything else, again, I’m not going to spend one second of this job prioritizing what my job is under some other, ‘Does this work for me?’ My priority is I’m the head coach and I’m going to take those responsibilities as they relate to everybody involved in the organization. I’m going take to those serious and focus on that. I’m not joking, lying, misleading. I don’t think about all those questions, ever. It’s a waste of my time and I don’t try to waste my time or other people’s.”
The most immediate question is whether McDaniel will be relieved of his duties after Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Patriots. If McDaniel stays, the next question is whether the next G.M. will decide to make a coaching change.
