Tom Brady threw a pair of touchdowns, one to newly acquired standout receiver Antonio Brown, and the defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns Sunday afternoon as the New England Patriots crushed the Miami Dolphins 43-0 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
New England (2-0) got off to a slow start in putting up points. Sony Michel did finish off the Patriots first drive that covered 57 yards on 10 plays with a one yard touchdown run to make it 7-0. Stephen Gostkowski missed a second quarter field goal and also missed two extra points in the game. Brady though would extend to a 13-0 halftime lead when he found Brown for a 20 yard touchdown with 1:24 to go in the second quarter.
Devin McCourty had one of four interceptions for the defense in the third quarter that did lead to a 28 yard field goal by Gostkowski to make it 16-0. Brady kept it on a keeper near the goal line later in the quarter to score from one yard out. Stephon Gilmore intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick early in the fourth quarter and took it 54 yards for a touchdown, and Jamie Collins did the same on the next Dolphins possession with a pick six of his own that covered 69 yards to make it 37-0. Brady later hit James White for a 10 yard passing touchdown to finish off the scoring. New England has now outscored their two opponents by a combined 76-3, while Miami (0-2) has been outscored 102-10 in their two losses.
Brady finished 20-28 passing, 264 yards, and two touchdowns. Michel helped get the running game going after just 14 yards last week he churned out 85 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. In his first game in New England Brown led the receiving core with four catches for 56 yards and a score. Collins and Elandon Roberts each had five tackles to lead the defense. The Patriots also had seven sacks, led by Adam Butler who had two. Starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and backup Josh Rosen combined to go 18-39 passing, 186 yards for the hosts. Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions, while Rosen also threw one. Miami only rushed for 42 yards on 15 attempts (2.8 average), while Preston Williams caught four passes for 63 yards. Jerome Baker led all tacklers in the game with 12 for the Dolphins. New England outgained the Fish 391-228 in total yardage. The Patriots have now gone 12 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown (Super Bowl vs Rams, vs Steelers, at Dolphins).
New England returns home next Sunday when they host their AFC East rivals the New York Jets at 1 p.m.
