Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 320 yards including a game winning five yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki with 29 seconds remaining Sunday afternoon, as the Miami Dolphins upset the New England Patriots 27-24 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The loss by New England (12-4) and a win by the Kansas City Chiefs over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, has pushed the Patriots to the #3 AFC seed which means no bye week and will be in action next weekend in the Wild Card round. Miami (5-11) started out quickly to take an early 10-0 lead. The Dolphins got a 27 yard field goal by Jason Sanders on their second possession, and then Eric Rowe intercepted Tom Brady on a pass intended for Julian Edelman early in the second quarter and took it 35 yards untouched for a touchdown. New England responded with a 12 play, 58 yard drive that led to a 25 yard field goal by Nick Folk to cut the deficit to seven. The hosts tied it headed into halftime on a four yard touchdown run by Sony Michel, with the key play being a 50 yard pass from Brady to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.
After the Patriots went three and out to start the third quarter, the Dolphins went back on top. Fitzpatrick connected on passes of 25 yards to Albert Wilson, and 20 yards to running back Patrick Laird. Fitzpatrick capped off the drive with a two yard scramble to find pay dirt to make it 17-10. New England came right back when linebacker Elandon Roberts reported as eligible, and Brady found him out in the flat and Roberts took it 38 yards up the right sideline for a game tying score. Sanders put the visitors back into the lead just over 6:30 into the fourth quarter with a 32 yard field goal. But the hosts would take their only lead with just under four minutes remaining on the ensuing possession. Brandon Bolden set up good field position returning the kickoff 38 yards to the Patriots 40. Rex Burkhead had a 14 yard run and Brady hit Mahommed Sanu on a 22 yard pass. James White would score on a 13 yard pass from Brady to make it 24-20 New England. But the defense couldn’t hold, as Miami marched down the field including a big 24 yard reception by Devante Parker to the Pats 29 yard line. Fitzpatrick found Gesicki in the back of the endzone for the game winner. Brady and the offense had one more chance getting to their own 37, but after two incompletions only had two seconds to work with. The Patriots tried the hook and laterals to try to pull of the miracle win, but White eventually fumbled and the Dolphins fell on the ball to end it. Miami gets the ultimate revenge after losing to New England in Week 2 in South Florida 43-0.
Brady finished the day 16-29 passing for 221 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Brady went over 4,000 passing yards for the 11th time in his career, tied for the third most in NFL history. Michel rushed 18 times for 74 yards and had the one touchdown. Burkhead added 48 yards on six attempts. Dorsett had the lone reception for 50 yards, while Roberts added one for the 38 yard score. Sanu, White, N’Keal Harry, and Edelman all had three catches each. Stephon Gilmore had eight tackles, while JC Jackson had seven for the defense. Jamie Collins and Lawrence Guy each had a sack. Fitzpatrick went 28-41 passing in the first win for Miami in Foxborough since 2008. The Dolphins run game was ineffective only going for 63 yards on 22 carries. Parker had a huge day with eight catches for 137 yards. Jerome Baker had nine tackles to anchor the defense.
Brady did pass Peyton Manning for second all-time on the career touchdown passing list, now behind the leader Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints. The pick six threw by the veteran was his first since Week 16 of the 2017 season. The fourth quarter touchdown reception by White was his 24th since beginning his career in 2014, the most by any running back in that span. New England will now wait on a time and opponent for the Wild Card playoff round which will be either Saturday or Sunday next week.
