Patriots wake up at halftime, stomp Dolphins, 41-13

The New England Patriots can break out the hats and tee shirts for another AFC East crown. After sleepwalking through the first half, the offense came alive scoring 27 points while the defense pitched a shutout in the second half.

New England outscored the Miami Dolphins, 24-0 in the third quarter. A rejuvinated ground game led by RB Jonas Gray sparked the offense. A three yard TD run by LaGarette Blount gave the Patriots a 21-13 lead. K Stephen Gotkowski tacked on a field goal, breaking Adam Vinatieri's team scoring record with, 1,160 points.
TD passes by Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman widened the lead to 38-13

After a harsh halftime conversation with the coaching staff, New England roared out of the locker room breathing fire. The first play was a 34 yard pass to TE Rob Gronkowski from QB Tom Brady. It was Rob's first catch of the afternoon, and it set the tone for the second half.

The Patriots were fortunate to lead at halftime, 14-13. The New England scoring in the first quarter was a 62 yard blocked field goal return by CB Kyle Arrington. The kick was blocked by LB Jamie Collins, and scooped up by Arrington. Kyle's dive into the end zone was a double somersault. He would leave the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.

The other first half score for the Patriots was set up by a 60 yard interception return by S Duron Harmon. The short Patriots' drive was capped off on a six yard run by RB Shane Vereen. The Dolphins had two field goals, and a miraculous 32 yard TD catch by Mike Wallace from Ryan Tannehill just before halftime. The Dolphins squandered a sure touchdown in their prior drive when RB Damien Williams dropped an easy pass in the end zone from QB Ryan Tannehill.


Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

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