The New England Patriots have played a lot of bad football so far this season, but their 34-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins might just have been rock bottom. While the team showed a modicum of life in the second half, its first-half performance was downright embarrassing in all three phases.
The offense kept shooting itself in the foot. The defense had no answers for the Dolphins’ spirited attack. Special teams again left points on the board. When the whistle was blown on the first 30 minutes of the game, the Patriots were down 24-0 while looking resigned to the fact that they would not be competitive on Sunday.