Dolphins-Patriots Week 8 Complete Observations

Checking out the key moments from the Miami Dolphins' 31-17 victory against the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium

Here's what caught our eye before and during the Miami Dolphins' Week 8 31-17 victory against the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

-- We'll start with the inactive list, which was headed again by starting cornerback Xavien Howard missing a second consecutive game because of a groin injury and safety Jevon Holland, out after spending the week in the concussion protocol.

-- Also inactive were WR Robbie Chosen and DT Brandon Pili, with Skylar Thompson once again serving as emergency third quarterback in the event of injuries to both Tua Tagovailoa and Mike White.

-- Center Connor Williams was active after missing the previous two games and three of the previous four because of a groin injury.

-- Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Nik Needham both were active for the first time in the 2023 season.

FIRST QUARTER

-- The Dolphins won the toss and elected to defer, then proceeded to pitch a three-and-out.

-- Eli Apple and Ramsey started as the outside cornerbacks, with Kader Kohou in the slot and Kohou came over to drop Demario Douglas for a 4-yard loss on first down after a quick pass from Mac Jones.

-- The Dolphins' first drive reached New England territory before it fizzled.

-- The drive was kept alive when Mike McDaniel stayed aggressive as he normally does and went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Dolphins 45 and Tua deliver a perfect back-shoulder throw to Jaylen Waddle for a 17-yard gain.

-- But two running plays netted minus-1 yard, the second a 3-yard loss when safety Jabrill Peppers got by Waddle when he blitzed, and Tua's third-down pass for Chase Claypool fell incomplete when CB Jonathan Jones got in Claypool's way and disrupted his route.

-- Punter Jake Bailey then put his punt into the end zone for a touchback and only a net of 19 yards (the Dolphins would have been better off going for it on fourth-and-11 given that result).

-- The Dolphins defense had another strong possession even while giving up a first down.

-- Jaelan Phillips was active, getting involved in two tackles.

-- On third-and-4 from the New England 38, the Dolphins called a zone blitz with Jerome Baker coming up the middle and Bradley Chubb dropping into coverage, and Mac Jones threw a quick outlet pass to Rhamondre Stevenson. He got by Chubb in the open field, but Baker got him from behind after only a 2-yard gain with some help from Brandon Jones to force another Patriots punt.

-- The Dolphins' next drive began with a nice 15-yard completion from Tua to Durham Smythe over the middle, but it went downhill from there.

-- On second-and-9 from the Miami 36, Christian Barmore easily beat Robert Hunt at the line of scrimmage and quickly got to Tua for a 6-yard sack.

-- On the next play, Tua went for Tyreek Hill on a deep in cut but underthrew the ball and didn't safety Kyle Dugger who was sitting in the area and came up with an easy pick.

-- Zach Sieler's pressure on first down forced an incompletion, but on third-and-4 from the Miami 24, the Patriots handled Miami's five-man rush and Kendrick Bourne easily got by Justin Bethel over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown that gave New England a 7-0 lead. 

-- The Dolphins came right back like they've done so many times this season, answering New England's touchdown with one of their own.

-- This was another drive where they didn't face a single third down, the touchdown coming when Tyreek Hill easily got by the Patriots secondary and Tua delivered a 42-yard touchdown to even the score 7-7.

-- The drive also featured a nifty 11-yard run by Jeff Wilson Jr. where Jaylen Waddle sealed the edge to allow him to get outside.

-- After the obligatory touchback, the quarter ended with David Long Jr. made a nice play to come over and push Douglas out of bounds after a 2-yard reception.

SECOND QUARTER

-- The Dolphins defense pitched a second three-and-out on the next series, thanks in large part to a holding penalty on New England.

-- Ramsey forced a fumble after a short completion on the play with the penalty, but the ball out of bounds before the Dolphins could recover it.

-- Christian Wilkins then slid down the line to tackle Ezekiel Elliott after a 2-yard run.

-- McDaniel stayed aggressive, with two more fourth-down attempts on the Dolphins' next possession, with Tua converting a fourth-and-4 with an 8-yard scramble and Hill converting a fourth-and-1 after catching a quick pass from Tua. Newcomer Chase Claypool had the first block that allowed Hill to gain the firt down.

-- In between, the Dolphins overcame an 8-yard loss when the Patriots didn't bite on misidrection on a jet sweep and later when Dugger sacked Tua when tight end Julian Hill and right tackle Austin Jackson both went to block the same defender and left Dugger with a free run at their quarterback.

-- The drive also featured right guard Robert Hunt leaving the game with a leg injury, which left four backups on the offensive line — Kendall Lamm, Lester Cotton, Liam Eichenberg and Robert Jones.

-- The drive was kept alive when J.C. Jackson was called for defensive pass interference in the end zone on a third-down incompetion to Hill and two plays later Tua threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr. for a 14-7 Dolphins lead.

-- New England came up with its best drive of the half after getting the ball back, thanks to completions of 13 yards to Douglas and 14 yards to former Dolphins WR DeVante Parker, both over the middle against soft coverage.

-- There also was an 11-yard run where Rhamondre Stevenson broke a tackle attempt from Jaelan Phillips in the open field.

-- Jalen Ramsey ended the drive when he peeled off his receiver and stepped in front of a floater from Jones to Bourne down the sideline for the pick and then raced 49 yards up the sideline to the New England 40-yard line.

-- After an 11-yard completion to Waddle to the New England 29, Durham Smythe was flagged for holding on a run by Raheem Mostert, but worse left tackle Kendall Lamm was injured on the play.

-- After another 17-yard completion to Waddle, the Dolphins had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Jason Sanders that increased their lead to 17-7 heading into halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

-- The Dolphins gifted New England three points at the start of the second half after a bad exchange between Tua and Mostert on a running play out of shotgun formation left the ball on the ground and Anfernee Jennings recovered at the Miami 19.

-- The Dolphins were able to limit the damage when Christian Wilkins sacked Jones on third down after Jones failed to spot Parker running open across the middle.

-- Chad Ryland's 38-yard field goal cut the Dolphins lead to 17-10.

-- Some good news to start the second half was that Lamm was back in the lineup at left tackle.

-- On the first play of the next series, the Dolphins went with their money play, the deep in to Hill, and it was good for 22 yards.

-- The Dolphins then proceeded to move down the field, in the process converting their first third down of the game. It came on a third-and-9 from their 46 when Tua stepped up in the pocket and found a wide open Waddle for 23 yards after he turned around J.C. Jackson.

-- That came one play after Waddle let an easy catch go through his arms down the sideline.

-- After Chase Claypool recorded his first catch for the Dolphins on a 15-yard slant, Mostert finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that moved the lead to 24-10.

-- New England's next drive began with a 24-yard completion to tight end Pharoah Brown near midfield, but that drive stalled.

-- The Dolphins caught a break on a second-down incompletion to DeVante Parker when replays clearly showed helmet-to-helmet contact from safety DeShon Elliott even though no flag was thrown.

-- The Dolphins began their drive in tough field position at their own 4, but were able to move all the way to the 41 before having to punt.

-- The highlight of the drive was a 20-yard completion to Salvon Ahmed on a screen pass to convert a third-and-13.

-- That came shortly after Robert Jones was flagged for holding.

-- On the first play of New England's next possession, Bradley Chubb kept fighting at the line and eventually got to Mac Jones when he couldn't find an open receiver for his fourth sack in three games.

-- The quarter ended with New England facing a third-and-9 from its 16 after a short completion to former Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- After forcing a punt, the Dolphins went three-and-out on offense after Waddle and Hill both dropped very catchable passes.

-- New England then put together its best drive of the game, going 81 yards to score a touchdown that cut the Dolphins lead to 24-17.

-- Though Jaelan Phillips had two nice stops on running plays during the drive, the defense gave up a 17-yard run to Ezekiel Elliott up the middle along with two other runs of 7 yards.

-- The touchdown came on a fourth-and-goal from the 3 when JuJu Smith-Schuster sprinted to the corner of the end zone and got wide open before Mac Jones hit him with an easy throw.

-- The Dolphins responded with a game-clinching drive that was the stuff of title team.

-- The Dolphins got four first down on the drive to bleed the clock and ended it with Tua's 31-yard pass to Waddle on third-and-1 when two New England defender went with Hill near the sideline after his jet motion and left Waddle wide open in the middle of the field.

-- Before that, Mostert had a nifty 10-yard run and Tua had a clutch 9-yard completion to Hill over the middle when he threw the ball into some traffic but only where Hill could catch it.

-- While the outcome pretty much was determined by that point, the Dolphins still closed the door on defense with a stand that included a sack by Phillips on third down and an incompletion on fourth down when Brandon Jones appeared to have an interception after jumping for a desperation heave by Jones, only to have Smith-Schuster drill him in the chest area.

-- Smith-Schuster was penalized on the play, but for unsportsmanlike conduct and not unnecessary roughness, before Jones left the field with a couple of trainers.

-- All that was left was for Tua to kneel three times to wrap up the 31-17 victory.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Check out our daily podcast (All Dolphins Podcast) on YouTube and wherever you get your audio podcasts. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.