Patriots vs. Dolphins Week 8: Drake Maye's Second-Half Surge Erases a 13-3 Deficit in 24-19 Win

Drake Maye threw for 53 yards in the first half on Sunday. Then he came out of the locker room and played like someone who had taken that number personally.

The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 24-19 at a rain-soaked Hard Rock Stadium, scoring the first 21 points of the second half to erase a 13-3 halftime deficit. Maye completed nine of 10 passes for 146 yards after the break and finished 16 of 20 for 199 yards with two touchdown passes and a 2-yard touchdown run. New England bounces back from its Thursday night loss in Chicago to move to 5-3. Miami, a week removed from its first win of the season, falls to 1-6.

For a half, though, this was Malik Willis' day against the coach who gave him his first NFL starts in Tennessee, Mike Vrabel.

A First Half That Belonged to Miami

New England opened with a 34-yard Andy Borregales field goal and then started handing Miami gifts. On the Patriots' second possession, Efton Chism III caught a swing pass and rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez punched the ball out, with Miami recovering at the New England 19. Zane Gonzalez turned that into a 31-yard field goal to tie it at 3 with 3:39 left in the first quarter.

The second quarter brought more of the same. Borregales pushed a 40-yard attempt wide right, and Gonzalez banked a 52-yarder off the upright and through for Miami's first lead, 6-3. Then Willis went to work, steering the Dolphins 70 yards in 11 plays and flipping a 1-yard touchdown to Malik Washington with eight seconds left in the half. It was Washington's first touchdown catch of the season, and it sent Miami to the locker room up 13-3.

New England had 98 total yards at halftime, its fewest in a first half since Week 17 of 2024, per Boston.com. Maye was 7 of 10 for 53 yards and had been sacked twice, and one of his few bright moments was a 12-yard completion to Chism on fourth-and-3. Worse, tight end Hunter Henry left in the second quarter with a foot injury and did not return, thinning out a receiving group that was already playing without A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins.

Maye Flips the Script

Whatever was said at halftime worked. In the third quarter alone, Maye went 7 of 7 for 96 yards, per Boston.com. He found rookie Kyle Williams for a 43-yard touchdown that was originally ruled incomplete, and Vrabel's challenge overturned the call to make it 13-10. New England also converted a fourth-and-2 at the Miami 23 in the quarter, when a Maye completion to DeMario Douglas was spotted short and then upgraded to a first down on review. With 59 seconds left in the third, on third-and-goal from the 2, Maye faked a pitch to Rhamondre Stevenson and walked in himself for a 17-13 lead.

"It was kinda the message we've had all year: go be the answer," Maye told reporters, per UPI. "Don't wait around for anybody else. You go make it."

The Turning Point: A Deflection and a Dagger

Miami still had plenty of time when Willis dropped back early in the fourth quarter. His pass caromed off DaQuan Jones' helmet, and Kevin Byard caught it for his first interception as a Patriot, giving New England the ball at its own 47. Two plays later, Maye hit Douglas for a 48-yard touchdown, and the lead was 24-13.

Miami had chances to make it a one-score game sooner. Gonzalez missed a 43-yard field goal wide left with 6:45 to play, and the Dolphins did not score again until Willis found rookie Kevin Coleman Jr. for a 35-yard touchdown with 2:04 left. The two-point try failed, Stevenson recovered Bradley Pinion's onside kick, and Maye took a knee to finish it.

Who Carried It

Maye has now accounted for at least three touchdowns in five straight games, per the AP, and Sunday's version came entirely after halftime. Douglas caught three passes for 76 yards. Williams had one catch, and it was the one New England needed. With TreVeyon Henderson out sick, Stevenson carried the load with 19 runs for 82 yards.

The defense deserves at least half the credit. New England sacked Willis five times, with Cory Durden and rookie Gabe Jacas getting 1.5 apiece and Christian Barmore adding another, and it held a Miami run game that entered averaging 131.5 yards per game to 74 on 23 carries. That ended Miami's streak of five straight 100-yard rushing games, which was the longest active run in the league entering the week, per the AP. Ollie Gordon II ran 19 times for 69 yards and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag that led Jeff Hafley to pull him for a play. Jacas left in the third quarter with a knee injury and did not return.

Willis finished 21 of 32 for 211 yards with two touchdowns and the interception. Washington took a hard hit from Christian Elliss that drew an unnecessary roughness flag, left briefly and came back, and edge rusher Malik Herring returned in the third quarter after leaving with a stinger. Hafley did not hide from the split between halves. "We had an opportunity to make a bunch of plays," Hafley said, per UPI. "We made them in the first half. They made theirs in the second half. That's really all it comes down to."

The Numbers Behind It

• 21 unanswered second-half points for New England.
• 9 of 10 for 146 yards for Maye after halftime.
• 5 sacks of Willis.
• 74 rushing yards for Miami, about 57 below its season average entering the game.
• 98 total yards for New England in the first half.

What It Means

Our preview called it Patriots 24, Dolphins 17. We nailed New England's number and undersold how close Miami would make it. The Patriots, who lost a Thursday night shootout to Caleb Williams and the Bears in Week 7, are back on track at 5-3 and host Green Bay on Nov. 8. The health of Henry and Jacas, and Brown's status, will be the storylines this week. So will ball security: New England has now turned it over in all eight games, per Boston.com, a habit that will be harder to survive against the Packers.

Miami falls to 1-6 and hosts Detroit on Nov. 8. Hafley was blunt about the lesson. "You can't play one good half of football in this league and expect to win," he said, per Athlon Sports, and he refused to blame the rain. Willis got his shot at his old coach and won the first half. Vrabel won the one that counted.

Stats from the Associated Press, UPI, Boston.com and NESN. Postgame quotes as reported by UPI and Athlon Sports.