However, Miller was stuffed on fourth down at the New England 39 and the Patriots took over, with the game still knotted up.
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The real question isn’t whether or not the Patriots were trying to win. Brady should keep his foot ankle elevated and ice it as much as possible because the Patriots will need to bring their best performance in the second round of the playoffs.
Why, if the team had gone into the game with an obviously conservative approach created to protect Brady (and even Dolphins coach Dan Campbell believed that’s what the Pats game plan was), did they decide to throw the ball so often after Brady got hurt? It was an active clock drain. You know, I’ve always dealt with injuries.
Brady in action during the second half. New England has a first-round bye, so Brady will have two weeks to recover before playing the victor of the Kansas City Chiefs – Houston Texans Wild Card matchup. Tannehill hit DeVante Parker for the 15-yard touchdown two plays later to give Miami a 10-3 halftime advantage.
The Dolphins took a 17-10 lead with less than 7 minutes remaining.
-Cornerback Justin Coleman (concussion) was inactive in Miami, missing his sixth game of the season after previously dealing with a hand injury.
The idea that the Patriots offense wasn’t going to try until the rushing game picked up two first downs checks out.
And that’s not to mention the players who have been lost for the season, including running backs LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis and enough offensive linemen to put Brady in jeopardy every time he drops back for a pass.
JACKSON SCORES: Patriots running back Steven Jackson scored on a 2-yard run, his first TD since joining the team Dec 22.
“I’m very anxious about the Patriots”, Harrison added.
That last comment was in reference to the pressure New England quarterback Tom Brady faced all day.
The Patriots started fast in the second half when James White almost scored on a 68-yard pass from Brady. Although safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung returned, Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 25 of 38 throws for 350 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions for a 112.8 passer rating against a defense that ranked as high as seventh in recent weeks. With the QB in the shotgun, they ran it 12 percent of the time. Chung was once again shaken up in the second half against the Dolphins and missed a play after leaving the field with trainers. Rob Gronkowski was not targeted in the first half.
With his late 30’s resurgence, Brady has made it clear that he would like to play into his 40s, and by the looks of it, he will do just that.
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The extra week off from playing will allow the sprain to heal.
