The New England Patriots were outclassed by the Miami Dolphins in a 34-15 loss at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
New England dropped to 3-9 on the season while Miami improved to 5-6.
Here are four takeaways from the embarrassing loss in South Beach, a game where the final verdict was closer than the game itself:
A massive step backward
The Patriots moved closer to average in recent weeks. They were still a below-average team with below-average talent, but they looked closer to mediocrity. They were competitive. Well, that wasn’t the case Sunday as New England took a massive step backward at Hard Rock Stadium.