It’s been well-documented that Tom Brady typically struggles in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado. However, sort of lost in translation are the struggles the 41-year-old has had winning in Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
While at times it wasn’t pretty, the Patriots took a 30-28 lead at the mid-way point of the fourth quarter—all while James White was seemingly ignored in the offense.
It became apparent that, if the Patriots could hang on, you could certainly chalk this one up as one of those illustrious team victories for New England’s beloved football team that is known for prioritizing depth going into every season.
While the Patriots ultimately fell on a miracle lateral play in the final seconds, the depth came alive in today’s game, for sure. Starting with stud No. 3 on the afternoon—Albert McClellan. The Patriots claimed McClellan on waivers from the Baltimore Ravens a few weeks back, where he played six games as part of the linebacking depth for Baltimore. That being said, he was brought in to do one thing, and one thing only—special teams.
Which he did admirably today. The 30-year-old Marshall product blocked not one, but two punts today. Although, McClellan wasn’t alone when it comes to players whose stock climbed after the game.
Stud No. 2 of the afternoon was Dont’a Hightower. The linebacker took a lot of flack this season for having seemed to lose a step, as well as coming into the season overweight. But he has silenced a lot of the naysayers in the Patriots fan base with his performance against Miami on Sunday afternoon. Hightower registered a sack, as well as a handful of QB pressures in the losing effort.
Stud No. 1 on the day was Rob Gronkowski. A lot of heat has been thrown on the injury-plagued tight end—but boy did he show up today. Gronkowksi, despite being out-legged to the goal line by Kenyon Drake, put in a very impressive showing in the receiving game. Gronkowski had eight receptions for 107 yards, and a touchdown—by far his best showing of the season. Vintage Gronkowski is still something in the rear-view mirror, but he certainly did his part in the game.
But with all games, there are studs, and there are duds. Now for dud No. 1, putting in the worst showing of the afternoon—Stephen Gostkowski. Gostkowski really had a rough afternoon as he missed a point-after attempt and a field goal. As a result, he left four points on the board in a game that the Patriots wound up losing by one. Not to blame him for the loss, but Gostkowski makes way too much money to be shanking kicks in big games like he has been doing very often in recent years.
Gostkowski wasn’t alone in duds being laid today from the Patriots. The second worst player(s) on the field today for New England was the entire secondary. Stephon Gilmore doesn’t get a pass despite playing today with an ankle injury—but he wasn’t really all that bad overall. But both McCourtys, as well as Chung, Harmon, Jackson, and Jones all played rather pathetic this afternoon—allowing Ryan Tannehill to complete 73.7 percent of his passes, for 265 yards and three touchdowns, for a passer rating of 155.2. Ryan Tannehill. That’s all.
The third and final dud on the afternoon was Josh McDaniels for one reason and one reason only. The biggest question after the game today—where the hell was James White? The offense was not an issue overall, as scoring 33 points should give you a victory on most nights. But not playing your best receiving back makes absolutely zero sense. It’s ridiculous, and anybody defending the lack of White’s usage has no idea what they’re talking about.
The Chiefs beat the Ravens in overtime and improved their record to 11-2. With the Patriots dropping to 9-4, it becomes increasingly unlikely for New England to grasp that one seed atop the AFC.
