The New England Patriots’ eight-game winning streak came to an end Monday with a 27-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday. While the final score reflected that the game appeared to be a close one, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick saw it otherwise, saying his team was outplayed offensively by the Dolphins. Belichick admitted during his Tuesday press conference that his team was fortunate to get the points despite having a bad night offensively. Belichick pointed to their inconsistent running and passing games as the main causes of their loss to the Dolphins in Week 14.
The Patriots' defense also struggled to stop the Dolphins' offense.
Patriots' offense struggled vs. Dolphins
The Dolphins limited the Patriots to just 25 rushing yards on 10 carries after tallying 190 ground yards in their past two games. “I mean, nobody around here minds calling running plays if we're gaining yardage on them, but when we're not gaining yardage it makes it hard to call,” said Belichick, adding that the Patriots also failed to convert on third down in 11 attempts. Tom Brady also struggled against the Dolphins’ defense, completing just 23-of-43 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for a passer rating of 59.5.
Danny Amendola caught six passes for 76 yards while Dion Lewis caught five passes for 50 yards as the Patriots (10-3) sorely missed the services of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was suspended one game for a late hit against the Buffalo Bills.
Belichick said they need to regroup for their clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) in a game where the winner will hold the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC heading into the final two weeks of the season. “Pittsburgh is a great team. They have their way of doing things and their schemes that they run and we'll have to start preparing for those,” said Belichick, adding that their defense also needs to regroup without injured linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy.
Steelers ready for Patriots challenge
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said they are ready for the challenge of beating the Patriots in their Sunday clash at Heinz Field. “We don't take it for granted,” said Tomlin, whose Steelers already clinched the NFC North title. Earlier, Tomlin said there will be fireworks during their Week 15 clash with the Patriots. “It's good to be in big games. It's better to be in big games than ones nobody's watching," Tomlin said.
