Week 17 between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots functioned as a playoff game with the AFC East rivals scratching and clawing for the AFC's final playoff spot in Foxborough. With the Patriots' 23-21 win, they have supplanted the Dolphins for control of the AFC's seventh seed and final wild card spot. New England needs to win at the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills in Week 18 to secure their playoff spot, but they're in the driver's seat entering the final week.
Tied at seven at the half, it appeared as though Sunday afternoon would be mostly uneventful. The second half proved that theory incorrect. The Dolphins took a 14-7 lead following quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's 2-yard touchdown pass, a flip to running back Raheem Mostert off a scramble. Bridgewater faked a shotgun handoff to Tyreek Hill and initially appeared like he was going to attempt to run for the score. However, he saw Mostert crossing over the middle.
Bridgewater, starting in place of Tua Tagovailoa, who is in concussion protocol, left the game on his 39-yard pick-six to Patriots safety Kyle Duggar with an injury to a finger on his right hand. The safety stiff-armed Bridgewater near the goal line as the quarterback made an awkward attempt to tackle the sprinting Duggar. He finished with a line of 161 passing yards, one touchdown and the pick-six on 12 of 19 passing. However, New England had to settle for a 16-14 lead after the defensive score since kicker Nick Folk clanged the extra point attempt off the right upright. With Duggar running back that pick-six, he now has an NFL-best three defensive touchdowns, two interception returns and one fumble return. Those are also the most in a season by a Patriots defender in the Bill Belichick era, since the start of the 21st Century in 2000.
Rookie third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round pick, entered the game in place of Bridgewater, and his first drive went poorly. Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones took advantage of the rookie quarterback when Thompson threw just to the left of Hill, which led to Hill not being able to secure the grab and popping the ball up. Jones corralled the football in the air for the Patriots' second takeaway in a row. Thompson redeemed himself with a late touchdown on pass on the run for 4 yards to tight end Mike Gesicki, but his 104 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 12 of 21 passing wasn't enough to overcome Bill Belichick's defense.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones outclassed the Dolphins quarterback duo of Bridgewater and Thompson, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions while totaling 203 passing yards on 20 of 33 passing. Thanks to the Patriots' defensive dominance, he didn't need to do too much in order for New England to come out on top. A bright spot offensively for Jones was his connection with rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was as good as it's been all season. Thornton had a career-high 60 receiving yards on three catches, one of which was a 7-yard touchdown for the Patriots' first points of the game.
Bill Belichick's defense won the day intercepting both of the injured Tua Tagovailoa's replacements, Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson, which flipped the game. Neither offense was stellar, but Kyle Duggar's pick-six gave New England the breathing room it needed. Mac Jones' growing connection with rookie Tyquan Thornton is something that the Patriots offense can build upon heading toward a crucial Week 18 game.
Losing veteran Teddy Bridgewater to a finger injury on his throwing hand doomed the Dolphins offense. Skylar Thompson, the seventh-round rookie, looked out of his element for most of the day until the final drive when he threw a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Mike Gesicki. Thompson threw a checkdown on fourth-and-16 that was well short of the line to gain. Simply put, the Dolphins missed Tua Tagovailoa in a big way. However, it may not be in his long-term best interest to play again this season.
Patriots safety Kyle Duggar's interception-return touchdown is both the game's turning point and the play of the game. His run back to the end zone after the interception was phenomenal as Duggar juked and stiff-armed his way to six points. However, this play is also the turning play because Duggar's final stiff arm was on Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as he tried to bring down the safety short of the goal line. Bridgewater's attempt to tackle Duggar ended the quarterback's day with a finger injury, and the Dolphins offense wasn't the same the rest of the contest.
The Dolphins, losers of five in a row, face the Jets back home in South Florida with an outside shot at the playoffs. They'll need to win and hope for a Patriots loss in Buffalo against Josh Allen and the Bills in Week 18. Should the Patriots win, they will be in the playoffs.
With Miami out of timeouts, they attempted an onside kick, but the Patriots recovered, effectively winning the game. The Patriots and Dolphins are now both 8-8, and New England is now in control of the seven seed, the AFC's final playoff spot.
Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson just threw his best pass of the day, a four-yard touchdown to tight end Miek Gesicki, while on the run. The pass cuts the Patriots lead to two, 23-21, with 1:04 to go.
Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones, who has intercepted Skylar Thompson today, appears to have suffered an upper-body with 1:16 left in the game.
Following Nick Folk's PAT miss, Bill Belichick opts to go for it on fourth-and-four from the Dolphins 29. It ended poorly as Mac Jones got sacked. However, they still lead 23-14 with 2:32 left to play. The Dolphins get the ball back on their own 39 following the sack.
The Dolphins' fourth-and-16 attempt comes up seven yards short as Skylar Thompson's checkdown to running back Jeff Wilson Jr. wasn't what Miami needed given the distance they had to travel. The Patriots take over at Dolphins 35 up 23-14 and only 3:23 left to play.
Mac Jones hits Jakobi Meyers on a jump ball for a one-yard score to put the Patriots up two scores, 23-14, with 4:37 left to play. That will be a tall mountain to climb for rookie third-stringer Skylar Thompson.
The Dolphins pick up one first down on Skylar Thompson's second drive, but they end up needing to punt after his pass to Tyreek Hill ends up with Miami three yards short of the line to gain. 16-14 Patriots with 9:43 left in the game, and they will start on their own 11.
Despite taking over on their own 37 following Skylar Thompson's interception, New England can't do anything, and they punt the ball back after a three-and-out. Miami's offense returns to the field down 16-14 with 12:47 to go in the game. They will start at their own 20 following a touchback.
Patriots defensive back Jonathan Jones takes advantage of the rookie quarterback as Thompson threw just to the left of Tyreek Hill, which led to Hill not being able to secure the grab and popping the ball up. Jones corralled the football in the air for the Patriots' second takeaway in a row. 16-14 Patriots with 12:57 left to play.
With Patriots safety Kyler Duggar running back that pick-six, he now has an NFL-best three defensive touchdowns, two interception returns and one fumble return.
Third-string rookie Skylar Thompson is now in at quarterback for Miami as Bridgewater appeared to hurt his hand while attempting to tackle Duggar on the pick-six.
The Patriots take their first lead since 7-0 with safety Kyle Duggar's 39-yard interception return touchdown of Teddy Bridgewater. New England has to settle for a 16-14 lead since kicker Nick Folk clanged an extra point off the right upright. Dolphins get the ball right back with 2:51 left in the third quarter.
Patriots kicker Nick Folk bangs home a 49-yard field goal, trimming the Dolphins lead to four, 14-10, with 4:03 left in the third quarter.
With that 29-yard reception, Patriots rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton now has a career-high 60 receiving yards and counting. His previous best was 37 yards in the Patriots 38-15 Week 6 win at the Cleveland Browns.
The Dolphins take the lead following Teddy Bridgewater's two-yard touchdown pass, a flip to running back Raheem Mostert off a scramble for a two-yard score. Bridgewater faked a shotgun handoff to Tyreek Hill and initially appeared like he was going to attempt to run for the score. However, he saw Mostert crossing over the middle. 14-7 Dolphins with 9:17 left in the third. Jaylen Waddle's 24-yard reception got Miami into the red zone, down to the 18. That reception was seven more yards than his first half total of 17.
The Dolphins start in favorable field position, at the Patriots 38, following a three-out from New England that occurred inside their own 10. Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson returned the Patriots punt 10 yards. The game is still tied at seven with 12:02 left in the third quarter.
Both teams start the second half with three-and outs. The Dolphins gained a yard on first down via run from Jeff Wilson Jr., but Teddy Bridgewater then threw consecutive incompletions. One of those passes was a wild overthrow that hit Patriots safety Devin McCourty in the chest, but he couldn't hang on. Dolphins put and pin the Patriots inside their own ten, at the eight. Game is still tied at 7 with 13:01 left in the third quarter.
The Patriots open the half with a three-and-out after three consecutive Mac Jones passes. Two went incomplete and one went for four yards to running back Damien Harris. 7-7 with 14 minutes left in the third quarter.
Perfect punt for the Dolphins, pinning the Patriots at their own two with 1:52 left in the first half. Game is still tied at seven.
New England punts after Mac Jones can't connect with running back Rhamondre Stevenson on third down, so the Dolphins will take over on their own 22 with 5:28 left in the half. The score is even at 7.
Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders pushes a 51-yard field goal wide right, so Miami's nine-play drive all for naught. 7-7 with 6:21 left in the half. The Patriots gain possession at their own 41.
Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers fell down running a short route as the Dolphins sent a blitz, and Mac Jones ended up having to take a sack. New England punts the football into the end zone for a touchback. Game is still even at 7 with 11:19 left in the half.
Teddy Bridgewater throws a swing pass to Tyreek Hill, and he takes it two yards for a touchdown. Bridgewater and the Dolphins answer Jones and the Patriots touchdown with a score of their own. 7-7 with 14:55 left in the half. A key running into the punter penalty helped Miami keep their drive alive.
A critical false start penalty by offensive lineman Robert Hunt backs the Dolphins up to a fourth-and-six on their own 29. However, a running into the punter penalty by the Patriots allows Miami to get back to the fourth-and-one spot on their own 34. That penalty leads to running back Jeff Wilson Jr. plunging ahead for a couple yards, thus extending the Dolphins possession.
Mac Jones caps off the Patriots first drive with an accurate touchdown toss to the left corner to rookie wideout Tyquan Thornton. 7-0 New England with just over seven minutes left in the first quarter.
The Dolphins were able to pick up one first down on the opening drive, but quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was unable to give receiver Tyreek Hill enough room down the sideline to get both feet in bounds on third-and-six. Miami punts, and Mac Jones and the Patriots offense will have their first possession on their own 19. No score, 11:33 left in the first quarter.
Patriots linebacker Matt Judon has 15.5 sacks this season, the second-most in the NFL behind only Nick Bosa's 17.5. He's only three shy of tying Andre Tippett's franchise single-season record of 18.5 set in 1984. His pursuit won't be easy as the Dolphins' 32 sacks allowed rank as tied for the 11th-fewest in the NFL in 2022.
Most Sacks in Single Season
Patriots Since 1982 (Sacks First Tracked)
1984 Andre Tippett 18.5
1985 Andre Tippett 16.5
2022 Matt Judon 15.5
Many of the Patriots' offensive woes are related to their red zone execution as their 39% red zone touchdown percentage is the worst by any team since the 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that struggled mightily after Ben Roethlisberger missed the final 14 games of the season with an elbow injury.
The Patriots have lost lost four of their past five games since starting the season 6-4. A big issue has been their defensive regression, shrinking to the 19th scoring defense in that span. They were the second-best defense in football through their first 10 games.
Patriots Scoring Ranks
This Season
1st 10 Games Past 5 Games
W-L 6-4 1-4
PPG 20th 19th
Opp PPG 2nd << 19th <<
>> 24.4 PPG allowed in past 5 games (16.9 prior)
Teddy Bridgewater was ruled out after one pass attempt in his only start this season, but he did have 20+ pass attempts in both Week 4 & Week 6 as a backup. He averaged 261.0 pass YPG, 3 pass TD & 3 INT in those two contests.
Teddy Bridgewater This Season
Min. 5 Attempts
Week 4 at CIN Week 6 vs MIN
Comp/att 14/23 23/34
Pass yds 193 329
TD-INT 1-1 2-2
Passer Rtg 84.1 93.9
