Analyst Rips Patriots' Captain

This New England Patriots captain was ripped for his performance against the Miami Dolphins in Week 12.

Jan 1, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger (23) runs for a touchdown after intercepting the ball during the second half of agame against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Not a whole lot went right in the New England Patriots' blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and both sides of the both were culpable.

While the Patriots' lackluster offense has long been a lightning rod for criticism throughout the season, their defense hasn't been great either.

That was on full display in Week 12, when New England surrendered 34 points to the Dolphins. Perhaps one of the most guilty parties was safety—and team captain—Kyle Dugger, who was absolutely shredded throughout the contest.

Pats beat reporter Taylor Kyles put together a lowlight reel of Dugger's mistakes against Miami, and it was not pretty.

The #Patriots as a whole needed to be better yesterday, but you can't have this kinda game from a captain and highly-paid veteran

Dugger consistently struggled with awareness, communication, and eye discipline, and he seemed at least partly responsible for each of MIA's TDs https://t.co/yqArlKDduj pic.twitter.com/yoMwxxQwLY

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) November 25, 2024

Throughout the video, you can see why Dugger frequently out of position and taking rather odd routes to the football.

While these types of games certainly happen, it's always more eyebrow-raising when it happens to one of the team's best defensive players.

It wasn't like it was just one or two moments, either.

As you can glean from the reel, Dugger had an absolutely misearable performance through and through, and while the Patriots' inability to stop the Dolphins was not all his fault, he certainly didn't help their cause.

Dugger logged six tackles and a pass defended in the defeat. On the season overall, he has registered 44 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and three passes defended.

The 28-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Lenoir-Rhyne, was selected by New England in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

He has since established himself as one of the Pats' best defensive players, and last year, he racked up 109 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a couple of interceptions, a forced fumble and seven passes defended.

But Sunday afternoon was definitely one Dugger would like to forget.

The Patriots are just 3-9 on the season.

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