Patriots Lose Bye With Loss to Dolphins

It was a very tough Sunday for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They lost a game to the lowly Miami Dolphins in which they were favored by 17 points. However, losing to such a bad team was much more than a blow to their ego, says masslive.com. It also meant that the Patriots will be playing on wild card weekend for the first time in a decade. All the Patriots had to do was beat the Dolphins and they would have been able to secure a bye in the first round of the playoffs. However, they will now be hosting a game against the Tennessee Titans. Needless to say, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was not happy with these developments.

The Dolphins played very hard from start to finish. They had nothing to play for. However, they were well aware of the Patriots’ plight. Miami wanted desperately to force New England to play next week. The Patriots were terrible on offense. QB Tom Brady threw a bad interception. There was also some very questionable clock management at the end of the second half that cost the Patriots a chance at a field goal attempt. That turned out of be very big because the Dolphins beat the Patriots by a score of 27-24.

Even if the Patriots win next week, they will have another huge test the following week. Their reward if they beat the Titans will be playing the Chiefs in Kansas City. That will be a daunting task to say the least. Had the Patriots beaten the Dolphins, they would have next week off and they would host a game the following week. The week off that the Patriots no longer have is a very big deal. This is because there are several key players who are injured. They could use an extra week of rest. That will not be happening now.

The Patriots have never won a Super Bowl when they had to play in the wild card round of the playoffs. The last time they played in the first round, they were routed by the Baltimore Ravens. It will be very interesting to see which New England team shows up next week against the Titans. Both Tom Brady and Julian Edelman are nursing injuries. Only time will tell if one week is enough time for both of them to heal. Edelman was not a factor against the Dolphins.