You never know quite what to expect when you match up the Miami Dolphins against the New England Patriots regardless of the season or what  the team’s records are when they play. The only thing you can usually count on is a somewhat exciting game and the contest Sunday at Gillette Stadium  would fit into that description. The Dolphins hung tough for three quarters and did not go down without putting up a battle.

However after Miami took a lead in the third quarter Patriots quarterback Tom Brady connected with receiver Randy Moss on a 71 yard touchdown pass. After a subsequent 2 point conversion and a late fourth quarter field goal by the man with the magic foot kicker Steve Gostkowski New England would wind up  with a 27-17 win. The victory gives the Patriots a 6-2 record tops in the AFC East  and gave the Dolphins their first loss in the division after a 3-0 start in game against AFC East opponents.

This was not a classic Tom Brady performance  however he did exceed 300 yards in the air for the 27th time in his NFL career. The Pats QB was 25/37 for a total of 332 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Although the New England running game was not very effective running back Laurence Maroney did give the team their first touchdown and first lead of the game when he ran 1 yard into the end-zone with 6:58 left in the first quarter. The bulk of the offense was by the kicker Gostkowski who had a total of 4 field goals the longest being the 40 yard attempt he put through the uprights in the final quarter.

Miami at times throughout this contest went back and used their “gimmick” the “Wildcat Offense.” While it was effective in the third quarter leading to a Dolphins touchdown giving the Fins at the time 17-16 lead with 4:51 left in the period it is far from a surefire success. Miami had no luck with it at all during the previous two games; and at times on Sunday the Dolphins offense looked about as confused as the New England defense while it was in use. The touchdown in the third was the Dolphins’ only one in the air of the game as Ronnie Brown threw a 1 yard pass to Joey Haynos. Miami did not score again the rest of the afternoon.

Dolphins starting QB Chad Henne was not really effective behind center as he went 19/34 for a total of 219 yards without a touchdown or an interception. Dolphins veteran running back Ricky Williams had a 15 yard touchdown run with 6:11 left in the first half. After the extra point by kicker Dan Carpenter Miami had temporarily tied the game at 10-10.

New England with a 6-2 record will be in Indianapolis next Sunday night as they will take on the Colts. Miami drops to 3-5 after the loss will play host to the Tampa Bay Bucs next Sunday.

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