New England Patriots 35, Miami Dolphins 14
Here are the key takeaways, along with the highest-graded players, from New England’s 35-14 victory over Miami.
Quarterback grade: Tom Brady, 85.7
Brady continues MVP-level play
Tom Brady may still come up short in the MVP voting after missing the first four games of the season, but he did everything in his power over the 12 games he saw the field this year to win the award. Sunday was more of the same. He had an absolutely ridiculous adjusted completion percentage of 89.7 Sunday, as five of his incompletions were due to drops, throwaways, or being batted at the line of scrimmage.
Top offensive grades:
LT Nate Solder, 87.1
QB Tom Brady, 85.7
RT Marcus Cannon, 80.1
C David Andrews, 79.9
WR Julian Edelman, 76.9
Floyd makes mark
Michael Floyd made his Pats debut in Week 16, but he had his first real involvement in the game Sunday, and it looked like he picked up the offense quickly. He had an impressive touchdown early where he dragged multiple Dolphins defenders with him into the end zone. Floyd also sprang Julian Edelman’s long touchdown reception with a crushing pancake block down the field. He caught all three of his targets in 29 passing snaps.
Top defensive grades:
DE Trey Flowers, 86.8
LB Elandon Roberts, 82.9
CB Logan Ryan 81.9
CB Malcolm Butler, 78.1
DE Jabaal Sheard, 77.7
Flowers a budding star
Trey Flowers’ development over the second half of the season has been one of the biggest stories for the Patriots heading into the playoffs. His 29 snaps Sunday produced a career-high grade as he notched two hits and four stops against the run. Since the start of Week 10, he’s been the 16th-highest-graded edge player in the NFL.
Quarterback grade: Matt Moore, 63.5
Crumbling under pressure
Matt Moore was only under pressure on 10 of his 34 dropbacks Sunday, but they were the difference in the game. On those plays he went 2-of-10 for 27 yards and threw an interception. When there was no pressure he was a ridiculous 22-for-24 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. It was a far cry from the previous two weeks, where his passer rating was 133.1 under pressure.
Top offensive grades:
LT Branden Albert, 82.3
RT Ja’Wuan James, 79.2
LG Laremy Tunsil, 78.3
RB Jay Ajayi, 74.0
WR Jarvis Landry, 71.3
Bushrod still a liability
Jay Ajayi was robbed of another good chance at going for 100 yards in this one solely through the play of right guard Jermon Bushrod. The rest of the line was having a solid day, yet Bushrod blew up run after run. It was nothing new for PFF’s lowest-graded run-blocking guard this year, but it stood out like a sore thumb contrasted with the play of the Dolphins tackles.
Top defensive grades:
DT Jordan Phillips, 84.6
DE Cameron Wake, 79.4
CB Bobby McCain, 79.1
LB Kiko Alonso, 79.1
S Michael Thomas, 77.6
Suh a non-factor
With the enticing possibility of taking down Tom Brady in the forecast it was surprising to see Ndamukong Suh have such a dud. He totaled one singular hurry on 32 pass rushes and was moved off the line mightily on multiple run plays. Obviously it was a near-meaningless game for the Dolphins, but it was still a season-low 42.3 grade for the defensive tackle.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Patriots QB Tom Brady
PFF’s player grading process includes multiple reviews, which may change the grade initially published in order to increase its accuracy. Learn more about how we grade and access grades for every player through each week of the NFL season by subscribing to Player Grades.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.