The Patriots hosted the undefeated Miami Dolphins in week four in their first AFC East matchup of the year. The Patriots started out the season extremely slow with two embarrassing losses in the past two weeks. Both the offense and defense had been called out for being slow and ineffective. The Patriots looked to silence the critics and move their record to 2-2 in the Sunday morning game.

The game started in the hands of the Miami offense who quickly moved the ball. However, the Patriots defense made a stand after a long game to force the Dolphins to punt. The Patriots offense immediately rolled down the field and scored to make it 3-0. It only escalated from there, as the Dolphins were forced to punt four more times in the half and turned the ball over once. The Patriots offense then got rolling and the Patriots cruised to a 24-0 halftime lead.

The second half was similar for both the Patriots’ offense and defense. The Dolphins offense could only manage twelve yards and a turnover on their first three drives. Meanwhile, the Patriots offense had two long touchdown drives that extended their lead to 38-0.

The Dolphins managed to score a touchdown in garbage time to avoid a shutout and the game finished as a 38-7 Patriots victory. The win improved the Patriots record to 2-2 and helped them pull closer to the Dolphins, who still lead the division at 3-1. The Patriots returned to form in the clear-cut victory over their division rivals. They hope to continue this momentum next week when they face the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday, October 4th at 8:20 PM.

Things to Note:

• Patriots WR Josh Gordon was active for the game and managed 32 yards on two catches. He seemed to be a great fit for an offense needing a star receiver.
• Patriots WR Julian Edelman will be cleared to play this Monday after finishing his four-game suspension. He is expected to give the offense a huge boost due to his chemistry with Brady.
• Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski left the game early with an ankle injury. It is not expected to be serious and it is likely he didn’t return because the game wasn’t close.
• Tom Brady had a bounce-back game and seemed to have the offense in synch all day. He threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns.
• The Patriots defense limited the Dolphins offense to only 56 rushing yards—with only seven being in the first half.
• Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill had a terrible outing on Sunday, going eleven for 20 with only 100 yards and a QB rating of 3.5.
• The Patriots defense had only two sacks on the day despite their tremendous play on the field. They held the Dolphins to three for eleven on third down attempts.
• The Patriots offense outgained the Dolphins offense 449-172.
• Rookie Patriots RB Sony Michel was a huge highlight of the day, rushing for 112 yards and a touchdown on 25 rushing attempts.
• Tom Brady tied the NFL record for most players to receive a touchdown from him in his career (70) with his 55-yard pass to WR Cordarrelle Patterson.
• Rob Gronkowski broke the record for the most receptions by a tight end in Patriots history, passing Ben Coates.