The bye week will come in handy for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who could use the rest after Miami defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh landed on his right ankle in Sunday’s game.
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The Patriots’ hold on the top seed in the AFC is in jeopardy; if the Broncos beat the Chargers later Sunday, they will be the AFC’s top seed.
Carolina and Denver wrapped up the No. 1 playoff seeds in each conference by winning at home on the final day of the regular season Sunday. With the added field goal, the game was tied at ten.
The New England Patriots are limping into the playoffs, having lost four of their past six games. He completed 25 of his 38 pass attempts for 350 yards and two touchdowns. New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski was wide ride from 46 yards – only his third miss this year, and his shortest…. The Patriots didn’t garner a first down on their next play with a false start by Danny Amendola hurting their drive.
“I think they just wanted to shorten the game with all of the injuries they have”, a Dolphins coach told the Globe’s Ben Volin.
“I’m glad we have a week off. That helps”, Brady said during an interview on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan Show”.
“I don’t know”, he said.
When the Patriots opened things up in the second half, Brady took some big hits as the offensive line struggled. After establishing the run in the first half, the Patriots attempted to utilize play-action passes to generate more explosive plays down the field but coverage by Neville Hewitt Tony Lippett and others prevented them from doing so. Expected to be ready for playoffs. New England had just four plays go for at least 10 yards. No Patriots receivers had more than two receptions on the afternoon against a Dolphins (6-10) team that was playing for just pride under interim head coach Dan Campbell. After the 68 yard reception by White, the Patriots went on to muster just 44 yards of offense.
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“Yeah, ” Brady allowed, then said, “We were trying to be effective and move the ball down the field and score points, but we’re just not doingg a very good job of it. That’s what it comes down to”. It turns out, it wasn’t a particular team, but injuries.
