Patriots-Dolphins Monday Night Football Live Blog
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
Follow along for all the updates as the Patriots take on the Dolphins on Monday Night Football!
Final -- Dolphins 27, Patriots 20
The Patriots just didn't show up for this one, and their win streak is snapped at eight games. No division title this weekend, and the Pats will face a must-win next weekend in Pittsburgh.
Miami finished with 362 total yards, with Cutler passing for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Kenyan Drake couldn't be stopped, rushing for 114 yards to go with 79 receiving yards.
It was another off night for Brady in Miami, as he completed just 24 of his 43 attempts for 233 yards and threw two interceptions -- both to Xavien Howard. The Patriots were 0-for-11 on third down and finished the night with seven three-and-outs.
The Pats are now 10-3 on the season and sit behind the Steelers for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, setting up what should be the game of the year next weekend in Pittsburgh.
4th Quarter, 00:53: Gostkowski's attempt (we can't really call it a kick, because he barely touched it) didn't go 10 yards, and now the Dolphins can just kill the clock the rest of the way.
To make matters worse, Patrick Chung is limping off of the field after the play.
4th Quarter, 00:53 -- Dolphins 27, Patriots 20
Gostkowski kicks of a field goal to make it a one possession game, and an onside kick is upcoming from the Patriots.
4th Quarter, 00:57: Brady went to Amendola on third-and-goal, but Howard continues his incredible game by knocking it away from Amendola.
4th Quarter, 1:03: More pressure on Brady, who was nearly sacked by Alonso, then Wake before throwing it away. He ended the play with Timmons on top of him.
4th Quarter, 1:09: Brady was too low for Amendola on a second down try for the end zone, a play that is getting wiped out on a Nate Solder hold.
It's now second-and-goal at the Miami 15.
4th Quarter, 1:12: Brady bought himself a few extra seconds and fired one to Hogan in the corner of the end zone, but the receiver only got one foot down inbounds.
4th Quarter, 1:19: James White gets hit with an illegal motion penalty, moving the Patriots back to the Miami 6. It's New England's seventh penalty of the night.
4th Quarter, 1:28: Amendola was short of the end zone, and the clock continues to tick.
4th Quarter, 1:32: Brady hit Amendola down to the one-yard line, and he came up just a tad bit short of the end zone. The spot is being reviewed now.
4th Quarter, 1:55: Cam Wake was on Dwayne Allen in coverage, but Brady overthrew his tight end.
Davon Godchaux was hit with a roughing the passer penalty for hitting Brady up high after he made the pass. Big penalty, moving the ball down to the Miami 24.
4th Quarter, 2:00: Hey, Brady finally connected with Cooks!
They connected for 39 yards downfield, but the Pats couldn't get another play off before the 2-minute warning.
4th Quarter, 2:35: Miami was facing a third-and-5, so of course Cutler would chuck it down the field. He went deep looking for Stills, so the Patriots didn't have to call their final timeout after the play.
Miami will punt it away now, giving the Patriots another chance to make this interesting. Or go three-and-out again.
4th Quarter, 2:39: The Pats are burning through their timeouts. They're down to one after Belichick stops the clock following a seven-yard reception by Landry over the middle.
4th Quarter, 3:11: Parker just turned a short reception into a nine-yard play to give Miami a first down, and keep the clock ticking as they try to end this one.
4th Quarter, 4:48: Brady hit Amendola over the middle on third-and-20, but it only got about half of the yards they needed. So that Patriots are punting it away after their seventh three-and-out.
This one has been brutal in just about every way you can imagine.
4th Quarter, 5:11: A hold on Thuney has the Patriots dealing with a first-and-20 now. It's going from bad to worse, for everyone.
4th Quarter, 5:17: Now it's just getting silly. Miami's punt hit off of Walt Aikens' helmet, an illegal touch. Jordan Lucas kicked it around a bit before trying to down it at the one-yard line, but it didn't matter.
The Patriots drive will start at their own 22.
4th Quarter, 5:30: Neither team really wants this game, it seems. Facing a third-and-8, Cutler's pass hit Parker, ricocheted to Stills, and neither could come down with the pass.
So the Dolphins will once again punt it away to the Patriots.
4th Quarter, 7:15: The Patriots are now 0-for-9 on third down, as Brady went low to Cooks over the middle. Howard, of course, was draped all over Cooks on the play.
That's now six three-and-outs for the Patriots on 11 possessions. That's horrendous.
4th Quarter, 7:18: Brady was forced to throw it away with Alsonso bringing the pressure, setting up another third down.
4th Quarter, 7:43: Jordan Phillips is down for the Dolphins. He has one of Miami's two sacks on the night.
4th Quarter, 7:51: Cutler again went scrambling on third down, and again misfired with the New England D giving pursuit.
The Pats will get the ball at their own 19 after a five-yard punt return by Amendola. The Patriots have to be near perfect the rest of the way, but they're still not out of this one yet.
4th Quarter, 8:07: Dagger dodged, for now.
Cutler got a great block from Drake and delivered a deep strike to Grant, who had two steps on Malcolm Butler downfield. But the ball went off of Grant's fingertips, and instead of an extra point the Dolphins now face a third down.
4th Quarter, 10:50: Make that 0-for-8 on third down, as Suh gets to Brady for Miami's third sack of the game. It's the Patriots fifth three-and-out on the night.
Gonna be a lot of Kenyan Drake the rest of this one.
4th Quarter, 11:05: Brady was way too low for Danny Amendola on a second-and-8 pass over the middle. Here comes another third down attempt. Pats are 0-for-7 on third down tonight.
4th Quarter, 11:49: A hold by Patrick Chung on the Miami punt will move the Patriots back 10 yards. The drive will start at their own 15, which is not ideal for a team looking to cut into a 10-point deficit.
4th Quarter, 12:01: Cutler is back to being Cutler. He scrambled and could have run for a first down, but instead under threw Jakeem Grant over the middle to force a Miami punt.
The Dolphins are up by 10, but they can't be feeling too great about themselves at the moment.
4th Quarter, 12:08: A neutral zone infraction by Wise Jr. gives the Dolphins a third-and-6.
4th Quarter, 12:08: They weren't going to get a play off before the clock expired, so Miami calls their second timeout of the half.
4th Quarter, 12:08: Cutler was going screen again, but this one was knocked down by Lawrence Guy at the line. Sets up a big third-and-11 for Miami.
4th Quarter, 12:30: Drake seemed poised to turn a screen from a scrambling Cutler into a big game, but Roberts took him down for a one-yard loss. Big play by the New England D to start the drive.
4th Quarter, 13:05 -- Dolphins 27, Patriots 17
The Pats chipped into Miami's lead, with Brady going short to White on first-and-goal for his first touchdown pass of the night.
New England needed just six plays and 2:29 to get into the end zone. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it's a start.
End 3rd Quarter -- Dolphins 27, Patriots 10
As the quarter comes to a close, Brady hits Amendola for a 27-yard gain down to the Miami 21. Baby steps.
The Patriots have 151 total yards heading into the final quarter. Kenyan Drake has 175 total yards.
3rd Quarter, 00:36: An unannounced 15-yard penalty on Miami has the Patriots around the 50.
3rd Quarter, 1:15: Big play by the Patriots' D on third-and-5, as Marquis Flowers and Adam Butler collapse the pocket and get to Cutler.
Now it's up to the offense to do something.
3rd Quarter, 3;34: Brady went deep to Hogan on that third-and-9, just a little too deep. The Pats are now 0-for-7 on third down. That's not going to get it done.
3rd Quarter, 3:50: They must not be calling intentional grounding anymore. Brady continues to feel the heat from the Miami D, and threw it away to no one in particular. Sets up a third-and-9.
3rd Quarter, 4:25: Patriots get a break as Alterraun Vernon gets flagged for pass interference on Chris Hogan, giving New England their first first down of the quarter. It was a huge call, as it came on a third-and-10.
3rd Quarter, 4:30: Duron Harmon is fired up on the New England sideline, trying to get the Patriots defense into this one.
As he does that, Brady his pass knocked down by Suh at the line of scrimmage.
3rd Quarter, 4:43 -- Dolphins 27, Patriots 10
Jay Cutler had plenty of time in the pocket, and found Jarvis Landry wide open in the end zone to add to the Miami lead. Cutler had time to retire and then make a comeback before making the easy touchdown pass.
3rd Quarter, 5:20: Drake's leg is fine, as he just shook Patrick Chung for a 31-yard run down to the New England 4-yard line. He has 170 total yards on the night.
3rd Quarter, 6:10: Another third down, another conversion for Miami. Cutler hit Parker on a slant over the middle, and he easily outran Stephon Gilmore for Miami's 16th first down of the night.
3rd Quarter, 7:45: Jonathan Jones was flagged for pass interference on a deep third-and-1 pass by Cutler to Landry, keeping the drive alive for Miami.
3rd Quarter, 8:04: Kenyan Drake just dragged Elandon Roberts for a few yards until Adam Butler got into the mix and took the back down on a second-and-9 rush. The duo kept him a yard short, and Drake limped off with a leg injury after the play.
3rd Quarter, 9:12: Howard is having a career game on Brandin Cooks. The second-year corner just knocked away a third-and-1 bid by Brady to Cooks, forcing another New England punt.
The Patriots are 0-for-6 on third down. Think they miss Gronk?
And on the Alan Branch front, he is out for the rest of the game with a knee injury.
3rd Quarter, 10:04: Brady just hit Danny Amendola for eight yards over the middle, the first reception by a New England wide receiver tonight.
3rd Quarter, 11:03 -- Dolphins 20, Patriots 10
Cutler went right after Malcolm Butler and slung an absolute bullet to Jakeem Grant in the end zone for a nice 25-yard touchdown.
Cutler has now completed 18 of his 24 passes for 223 yards and a pair of scores. That looks more like a Tom Brady box score, as long as Brady isn't playing in Miami.
This is also the first time in the last nine games an opponent has scored over 17 points against the Patriots. Lots of work to do on both sides of the ball with 26 minutes to go.
3rd Quarter, 13:35: So much for that double score.
Brady went deep for Cooks again, and once again he was picked off by Xavien Howard.Howard made a spectacular play to jump in front of the pass at the last second and snag it out of the air.
For those keeping score at home, Brady has now thrown two picks. Jay Cutler has not thrown any.
3rd Quarter, 13:45: Brady just got swallowed up by five Dolphins, led by Jordan Phillips.
Joe Thuney was no match for Phillips on the play.
3rd Quarter, 14:38: Brady hits James Develin with his first pass of the second half, and a Patriots receiver still does not have a catch tonight.
Halftime -- Dolphins 13, Patriots 10
The Pats got a 46-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski at the end of the half and head to the locker room down by three. We'll see if they can pull off the double score when they return for the second half.
The offense hasn't looked very good tonight, and they had just two yards at the end of the first quarter. They now have 120 yards for the game, with Brady going 11-for-16 for just 92 yards. No receivers have caught a pass for New England, with Burkhead leading the way with five receptions, Dion Lewis chipping in with three, James White hauling in two and Dwayne Allen catching one.
The Dolphins on the other hand have 210 offensive yards, including 181 through the air off the arm of Jay Cutler. Kenyan Drake has 40 yards on the ground and 80 on four receptions.
Some adjustments will have to be made, because this Dolphins team came to play. This is just the second time all season that the Patriots have trailed at halftime.
2nd Quarter, 00:43: James White couldn't find the corner on a third-and-3 run, and was stuffed after picking up just a yard.
Pats are lining up like they're going for it. Chances are they won't. Let's see if the Dolphins jump at the line.
2nd Quarter, 1:20: Brady just got walloped by rookie defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, who went in untouched and put a big hit on the QB as he threw it away.
2nd Quarter, 1:51: Brady goes to Burkhead on second-and-7, who barrels his way for eight yards.
2nd Quarter, 2:00: The Pats are in Miami territory as we hit the 2-minute warning. Burkhead took a short pass from Brady and turned it into a 23-yard pickup on second-and-5, moving the ball on the other side of the 50.
A three-yard run by Lewis has the Pats set up at the Miami 44 as they look to add points ahead of halftime. Lewis has 21 rushing yards so far to go with his 31 receiving yards.
2nd Quarter, 3:33 -- Dolphins 13, Patriots 7
The Dolphins are back on top after an 80-yard drive to the end zone, with Cutler hitting Landry on a slant for a five-yard touchdown.
So much for that "Bend, Don't Break" from the defense. Cutler is up to 181 passing yards on this one. Brady has just 53. We've in Bizzaro World territory, folks.
2nd Quarter, 4:10: Jordan Richards had Cutler wrapped up for a sack in the backfield, but the QB was able to get out of it and hit Drake for eight yards to the New England 5 and a fresh set of down.
That could be a killer.
2nd Quarter, 5:07: Cutler is pretty upset that his 16-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry was just erased, but Laremy Tunsil was flagged for a pretty blatant hold. So sorry Jay, but no touchdown.
2nd Quarter, 5:30: Cutler just took advantage of a horrendous mismatch. Seeing Elandon Roberts lined up with Drake, Cutler hit his running back for 47 yards down to the New England 16.
Miami is going to exploit that matchup any time they see it.
2nd Quarter, 6:18 -- Patriots 7, Dolphins 6
All is right in the world again. The Patriots offense has found the end zone, and the Patriots have the lead.
Rex Burkhead rushed it in from three yards out, and is up to five touchdowns in his last three games.
The Patriots marched 51 yards down the field on five plays, thanks in large part to Lewis' incredible one-handed grab and the PI on Howard.
2nd Quarter, 6:24: Brady went deep for Cooks in the end zone, and Howard was flagged for pass interference. So the Pats will get a fresh set of downs from three yards out.
2nd Quarter, 8:13: Dion Lewis has his video game highlight of the night, hauling in a little loft pass from Brady with one hand along the sidelines. The play went for 20 yards down to the Miami 28.
Brady was under pressure, but made a great throw that only Lewis could catch -- even if it took just one hand.
2nd Quarter, 8:46: And the offense is moving back five yards, thanks to a false start by Cam Fleming.
2nd Quarter, 9:05: The Patriots are in Miami territory, with Brady hitting Dwayne Allen for eight yards on a first down pass.
2nd Quarter, 9:14: The Pats will have great field position to start their next drive, starting at their own 48 after a solid punt return by Bernard Reedy.
While Branch was back on the field for the Patriots' D, he is now heading back to the locker room. And it doesn't sound good this time.
2nd Quarter, 10:33: At least the New England D looks good tonight. Devin McCourty went in untouched for a sack on Jay Cutler, sending him back 11 yards to the Miami 8.
2nd Quarter, 11:21: What was looking like a decent drive comes to an end on third-and-4, as Brady hits Burkhead for just three yards before Kiko Alonso and Reshad Jones put up a wall and keep Burkead from getting the first down.
Brady and the Pats probably could have used a reliable and gigantic tight end on that down.
2nd Quarter, 13:30: We have another first down! Lewis picked up seven yards on a first-down pass from Brady, and then Brady swung it out to Rex Burkhead (lined up as a receiver) for eight yards to move the chains for just the second time this game.
2nd Quarter, 14:30: We have our first Patriots first down of the evening, as Dion Lewis picks up 11 yards on a nice first-down run.
2nd Quarter, 14:53: The Pats will start this drive at their own eight-yard line, so they've got their work cut out for them.
End 1st Quarter -- Dolphins 6, Patriots 0
The quarter ends with Thomas making a catch and then fumbling. He was able to recover, but he pretty much cost the Dolphins a first down.
Miami will be punting when the second quarter begins.
Tom Brady has no completions and the Patriots have just two yards on offense after the first 15 minutes. Miami has eight first downs, 123 total yards and a six-point lead.
1st Quarter, 00:31: Alan Branch is back on the field and making plays, stuffing Drake for no gain on a second down run.
1st Quarter, 1:36: A hold by Pouncey somewhat cancels out that Gilmore penalty, with the Dolphins now facing a first-and-20.
1st Quarter, 2:06: And right after we praise a Patriots defense back, another one makes a real bad play. Stephon Gilmore was flagged for pass interference after grabbing hold of DeVante Parker, giving Miami a free first down.
1st Quarter, 2:09: Cutler went deep for Julius Thomas on a first-and-10 attempt, but Patrick Chung made a great play to break it up downfield.
1st Quarter, 2:59: A quick three-and-out for the Pats offense. Brady underthrew James White on a first down out, Rex Burkhead only picked up two yards on a second down run up the middle, and Brady's third down bid to Chris Hogan was broken up by corner Alterraun Verner.
Not a great start to the night for the Patriots offense, which has a grand total of two yards.
And some bad news for the defense as well, with starting defensive tackle Alan Branch now nursing a knee injury. He's questionable to return.
1st Quarter, 3:49 -- Dolphins 6, Patriots 0
The Dolphins get three more points off of the Brady pick, with Cody Parker booting a 44-yard field goal after Miami's drive stalled. This is the definition of "Bend, Don't Break" by the New England D, as Miami already has 103 yards for the night.
Lawrence Guy came up with a huge stop on a second-and-4, getting Drake in the backfield for a four-yard loss. Jonathan Jones then made a nice stop on Parker after he hauled in a six-yard pass from Cutler on the ensuing third-and-10.
1st Quarter, 8:15: The Dolphins came to play tonight, as Xavien Howard picks off a bad deep ball by Brady.
Brady went looking for Brandin Cooks, but his throw came up short and went right into Howard's hands. It's Brady's fifth pick of the season and third in the last three games.
Dolphins will take over at their own 40-yard line.
1st Quarter, 8:23: Brady felt the pressure from a blitzing Lawrence Timmons on 2nd-and-10 and threw it away. Not a great sign for what could be this evening.
1st Quarter, 9:01: Cameron Fleming is getting the start at right tackle for the Patriots.
1st Quarter, 9:01 -- Dolphins 3, Patriots 0
The Patriots are trailing for the first time since Week 8.
The Dolphins threatened and had a nice fourth down conversion, but the Patriots D holds them to a field goal on their first possession.
Jay Cutler overthrew Kenny Stills in the back of the end zone on 2nd-and-10 from the New England 11, and threw it away when he felt some pressure and didn't have any open targets in the end zone.
Now it's Brady's turn to try and put some points on the board.
1st Quarter, 10:54: Facing a 4th-and-1 at midfield, Jay Cutler faked a handoff to Drake and hit Parker for 15 yards down to the New England 21. Makes up for a drop Parker had on the first pass of the game.
1st Quarter, 14:38: On the second play of the game for the Dolphins, Kenyan Drake gashed the New England D for a 26-yard run down to the Miami 45. Elandon Roberts ran right by Drake in the backfield.
Marquis Flowers and Roberts are the Pats two starting linebackers tonight.
Pregame 8:26pm: The Patriots won the coin toss and, of course, deferred to the second half.
So Jay Cutler and the Miami offense will get the ball to start the game. Whenever this game does start, that is. We're all ready for some football, that's for sure.
It's also kind of chilly for Miami, but no one in New England feels any sorrow on that front:
Pregame 7:56pm: Tom Brady did actually fire a pass to Randy Moss during his pregame warmups:
Pregame 7:30pm: Hogan's return will be a welcome sight for a Gronkowski-less Patriots offense, but it will take a full team effort to make up for that void.
As Hogan makes his return, we could see big games from Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks (who had 83 yards off of six catches and a touchdown two weeks ago) and running backs Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead. Lewis ripped off 115 rushing yards against the Dolphins two weeks ago, his biggest game of the season, and Burkhead ha 50 rushing yards to go with his two touchdown receptions.
With Gronk out and the Pats looking to limit the amount of time Brady will have a Dolphins player trying to mash in his face, expect an uptick in the rushing game and plenty of quick and short passes heading to Amendola and Hogan.
And if the offense needs a little boost in the second half, Randy Moss is in the building...
Pregame 7:00pm: Chris Hogan is a go tonight.
The receiver will return after missing the last four games, as will special teams captain Matthew Slater and offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle. Deatrich Wise Jr. is also active, and will be New England's main sack threat on defense tonight.
David Harris and Cole Croston were New England's final two inactives for this week:
Linebacker/Special teamerTrevor Reilly, who suffered a nasty concussion on a special teams collision against the Raiders in Mexico City, is also active and returning tonight.
Pregame 6:30pm: The 10-2 Patriots are in Miami for a Monday Night Football showdown with the 5-7 Dolphins, aiming for their ninth straight win. If they get the W tonight, they'll also clinch their ninth straight AFC East crown and 15th in the last 17 seasons.
These two teams just played each other two weeks ago in Foxboro, a 35-17 Patriots win that saw Tom Brady throw four touchdowns. Brady is 21-9 in his career against the Dolphins, but just 7-8 in Miami. While he had little trouble with the Miami defense two weeks ago, Brady was hit eight times and pestered throughout much of the contest, and that was with Rob Gronkowski in the lineup. Brady will be without his giant tight end this time around, as Gronkowski is serving his one-game suspension for last weekend's dirty hit on Tre'Davious White in Buffalo.
But Brady is expected to have Chris Hogan back in the mix, as the receiver will reportedly return from a shoulder injury he suffered back on October 29. We'll know for sure when the Patriots release their full list of inactives around 7pm.
The Patriots have already ruled out right tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle), Kyle Van Noy (calf), Trey Flowers (ribs), Brandon King (hamstring) and Mike Gillislee (illness), and the absence of both Flowers and Van Noy will leave the New England defense without their two best players at getting to the opposing quarterback. Deatrich Wise Jr. is third on the team in sacks, and questionable with a foot injury. We'll know for sure whether or not Wise will be in the mix come 7pm.
Stick with CBSBoston.com throughout the night for all the updates before, during and after Monday night's big game down in Miami, and after the game, catch Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's postgame press conferences and full reaction and analysis of the game on Patriots 5th Quarter over on myTV38!
