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THE WIRE
WK 9 FINAL Bengals 63, Falcons 42 WK 9 FINAL Lions 14, Dolphins 35 WK 9 FINAL Giants 27, Eagles 49 MOVE Tyler Shough dev trait up Superstar to X-Factor MOVE RJ Harvey dev trait up Star to Superstar MOVE Jadon Canady dev trait up Star to X-Factor WK 1 Lions (4-4) at Bengals (4-4) WK 1 Packers (5-4) at Steelers (6-2)
WEEK 8 · FINAL
PATRIOTS 4-5 · 41.0 PPG 10 – 16 DOLPHINS 6-2 · 38.0 PPG
THE READ
Dolphins win a 16-10 rockfight

The Dolphins won 16-10 in a game that looked closer on the scoreboard than on the field. Miami rushed for 144 yards while holding New England to 47, a chasm that explains the result more than Drake Maye's respectable 233 passing yards or Hunter Henry's 10 catches for 103 yards. The Patriots threw on 66 percent of their plays—well above their season norm of 81 percent—which only underscores how thoroughly they were dominated on the ground. For a Patriots team sitting 4-5, there's nowhere to hide in a 26-point total: this wasn't a close game they lost, it was a mismatch they couldn't solve.

Zoe Bell The contrarian
THE WIDER PICTURE
Team SRS SOS MARGIN TO +/-
Patriots +3.3 +3.8 -0.5 -6
Dolphins +17.2 +4.0 +13.2 +10
SRS is how many points a side beats an average team by once you account for who they played — beat a good team by 3 and it counts for more than beating a bad one by 20. SOS is how hard that schedule has been. Full table.
Dolphins — AFC #4 · division · 6-2 Playoff picture →
In the MVP race
#2 Malik Willis QB · Dolphins · 14.4% of the field
#7 Drake Maye QB · Patriots · 1.5% of the field
#9 Jeff Caldwell WR · Dolphins · 1.0% of the field
The whole board →
IN THE BOOTH
Talia Morgan Beat reporter
New England managed 47 rushing yards and couldn't sustain anything on the ground, which made it impossible to keep pace in a game that never had much offense to offer either side. Miami's defense did the real work here, holding Willis to 153 yards passing — well below his season average — while the Phins leaned on their run game in a way they almost never do, and it was enough to hold on in a 6-point slugfest.
Daniel Keller The numbers guy · replying
New England had 233 passing yards and Hunter Henry caught 10 for 103—enough to win most games—but the Patriots couldn't capitalize because Miami's defense generated 3.5 sacks while New England managed just 1, and that pressure differential on a day when neither offense had room to breathe was the difference between 6 points and going home.
Caleb Brooks Beat reporter · replying
New England had the passing game to stay in this one—Maye and Henry did their jobs—but 47 rushing yards killed any chance of controlling the game, and you can't win a grind like this without a ground attack.
They only ever read the box score and this league's own numbers — none of them has a source, and none of them can report anything that did not happen.
Drake Maye
Patriots
23/37, 233 yards
Hunter Henry
Patriots
10 catches, 103 yards
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
On the ground Dolphins 144, Patriots 47 Dolphins
Through the air Patriots 233, Dolphins 153 Patriots
Total yards Dolphins 297, Patriots 280 Dolphins
Pressure Dolphins 3.5 sacks, Patriots 1 Dolphins
THE ROOM Final. The recap is below.
📺 THE WEEK 8 SHOW this game is in the week's show ▶ Watch the show
THE MATCHUP SCOUT every number below is counted from the export or read off the roster — nothing is inferred about playcalling
LEAGUE DATA counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy Pass 81% · Rush 19% · 40.1 scored, 40.6 allowed
12.0 yds/att 62.6% completions 5.7 yds/carry 514.6 yds/game 2.1 giveaways/game 4.6% sack rate last 5: 3-2
Primary weapon: A.J. Brown WR — 24% of the receiving yards · DEPENDENCY MODERATE
SAPPHIRE METRICS QB efficiency 69 · Aggressive Balance 69 Ball security 40 Back usage 14% QB runs 2.2/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.1 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 96 WR 85 TE 90 RB 84 OL 82 DL 84 LB 80 DB 90
Best: Christian Gonzalez CB 98 Fastest: TreVeyon Henderson HB 95 SPD 7 at star dev or better
YOUR NOTEBOOK what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic
Sign in as a member of this league to keep private scouting notes on your opponents.
HOW THEY PLAY the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
stuuumouuu
Dolphins · his last 8 games
Throws it Runs the quarterback
Pass / run84% / 16% Points for / against38.4 — 25.1 Margin+13.2 Giveaways a game1.2 Sacks taken5.4% of dropbacks Lead backEli Heidenreich · 1.8/g Top targetJeff Caldwell · 36% QB carries2.1 a game
esaias32
Patriots · his last 8 games
Throws it Gives it away Runs the quarterback
Pass / run81% / 19% Points for / against40.1 — 40.6 Margin-0.5 Giveaways a game2.1 Sacks taken4.6% of dropbacks Lead backTreVeyon Henderson · 5.5/g Top targetA.J. Brown · 24% QB carries2.2 a game
Counted from the weeks each man actually held his team — so a franchise that changed hands is not credited to whoever has it now. Nothing above is a playcall: the export does not carry those, and neither does this.
THE SERIES esaias32 against stuuumouuu — the men, not the teams
stuuumouuu leads it 1-0. stuuumouuu won the last one.
1 meeting avg 10.0 — 16.0 biggest: 6 pts to stuuumouuu
S1 · week 8 esaias32 10 — 16 stuuumouuu STUUUMOUUU
Only meetings Sapphire can attribute to both men are counted — a Madden export never says who owned a team last season, so the series starts where the record does.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push
Patriots receivers vs Dolphins secondary 85 v 82 PATRIOTS
Dolphins receivers vs Patriots secondary 79 v 90 PATRIOTS
Patriots line vs Dolphins front 82 v 85 DOLPHINS
Dolphins line vs Patriots front 78 v 84 PATRIOTS
Patriots backs vs Dolphins run defence 84 v 81 PATRIOTS
Dolphins backs vs Patriots run defence 72 v 83 PATRIOTS
Patriots passer vs Dolphins secondary 96 v 82 PATRIOTS
Dolphins passer vs Patriots secondary 91 v 90 EVEN
TOP PERFORMERS
Drake Maye QB Patriots 233 pass yds
Malik Willis QB Dolphins 153 pass yds
Hunter Henry TE Patriots 103 rec yds
A.J. Brown WR Patriots 81 rec yds
Chris Bell WR Dolphins 52 rec yds
Jeff Caldwell WR Dolphins 51 rec yds
🎬 The Game Recap
this game as an episode -- the score, the stars, the numbers that decided it -- and a video you can post ›
BOX SCORE
PATRIOTS
PLAYER C/ATTYDSTDINTSCKLNGRTG
Drake Maye QB 23/372330042480.1
DOLPHINS
PLAYER C/ATTYDSTDINTSCKLNGRTG
Malik Willis QB 17/301530012070.5
RECENT FORM
Patriots
L 36–47 vs Bears WK 7
W 48–27 vs Jets WK 6
W 63–42 vs Raiders WK 5
Dolphins
W 50–36 vs Jets WK 7
W 46–18 vs Bengals WK 5
W 52–24 vs Vikings WK 4
TEAM STATS
Patriots Dolphins
280 TOTAL YARDS 297
233 PASSING YARDS 153
47 RUSHING YARDS 144
4 SACKS ALLOWED 1
1 SACKS MADE 3.5
0 GIVEAWAYS 0
0 TAKEAWAYS 0

Bold is the side that won that line. Giveaways come off a team's own offensive rows and takeaways off its own defensive rows — two separate payloads, so they need not tie out against each other.

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
0 PATRIOTS — 1 DOLPHINS
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