Patriots Fall To Fins 22-21

Brady's fourth quarter INT killed the Pats.

No one saw this coming. Just 3:12 into the first quarter Tom Brady threw a beautiful ball to Randy Moss for a 58-yard touchdown on a fake end-around for a quick 7-0 lead. After a Miami punt, Kevin Faulk rushed for a 6-yard TD to put the Pats up 14-0. It looked like the Pats were clicking on all cylinders, but before we knew it the NFL reminded us why it's the most competitive sport in the world.

The Fins quickly put together a 88-yard touchdown drive, which was followed by a Patriots punt. Belichick has often said that most football games typically come down to a few plays....in this case he was spot on.

The Patriots made two pivotal mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

The first mistake:

With the ball on the 6 yard line and 2 minutes left in the half the Patriots went for the touchdown as opposed to the FG on 4th down.

While most people can rationalize Belichick's desicion to go for the fourth down versus the Colts, this 4th down attempt was the wrong decision. In the Colts game Belichick admitted after the game he went for the 4th down because his team needed the extra points versus the high scoring Colts offense.

In this situation the right call was to kick a FG and make it a two possession game at 17-7. The Patriots didn't convert the fourth down and gave the Dolphins the ball at their own 6 yard line. Henne drove down the field to finish the half with a FG and brought the score to 14-10. Bigger than the 6 point swing was the fact the Patriots gave the Dolphins hope and momentum going into the half.

The second mistake:

Brady's interception in the end zone on 2nd & goal with 9:45 left was the games next turning point. It would an understatement to say Brady wanted this one back. Even if the Patriots failed to get a TD and didn't turn the ball over, a field goal would have done the trick making it a 24-19 game. However, the turnover resulted in no points, and left it a two point game until the final minutes.

When it was all said and done, the Patriots underestimated the Dolphins and were outscored 17-0 to finish the game.

Other miscues:

• The Patriots' second half offensive play calling was questionable. Only the 81-yard prayer to Sam Aiken went for anything productive. After Aiken's score on the first play of the second half, the Patriots' final possessions went punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, and interception. Anyone think finishing games is an issue for this team?
• The cornerbacks have not played well. Every completion seems to have Jonathan Wilhite in the picture. The Patriots are not getting to the opposing QB's at all; they rank 28th in the NFL with only 20 sacks. No CB's in the NFL can guard opposing wide receivers for the amount of time the Patriots give opposing quarterbacks.

At 7-5 the Patriots lead the division, but by only one game over the Dolphins and Jets. They stand at 5-4 in the conference, and a despicable 1-5 on the road (the only win was in London). The Pats play on Sunday versus the Panthers (5-7) who are coming off of a win against the Buccaneers.