Patriots Lose to Dolphins in Heartbreaking Fashion; 24-17

09/18/23 by Nick Antonakas

BOSTON – The New England Patriots suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football at Gillette Stadium.

Pats tight end Mike Geisicki made a valiant effort to keep New England alive in the late stages of the game. He tossed a lateral to offensive lineman Cole Strange on a pivotal fourth-and-4 that came up just short of the first down marker. Miami secured the 24-17 win with the stop.

What began as a sluggish start for New England and their offense—putting up just three points in the first half to Miami’s 17—became a close contest by the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Mac Jones refused to let New England surrender. He drove the offense down the field twice in the fourth quarter, their second drive ending with a 5-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson. The Pats sat behind the Dolphins by only seven, the score being 24-17.

It didn’t look like the Pats would get another chance with the ball as Dolphins’ kicker Jason Sanders lined up for the 55-yard field goal to make it a two-score game with just 2:19 left. Fortunately for New England, Sanders’ kick shanked to the right of the goal post. This gave the Pats yet another chance to complete a comeback in the final stages of the game.

Just like last week, they couldn’t. There was only heartbreak for the New England Patriots.

“We need to be a lot more disciplined,” captain Hunter Henry said when asked about his message to the team after the game. When asked about the struggle of getting so close and not getting the job done, Mac Jones said, “Obviously, it sucks…[but] when you’re close, you just have to do more.”

The Patriots look to get their first win of the season on Sunday, Sep. 24, against the New York Jets. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.