Patriots at Dolphins

Another home game against what appears to be a venerable opponent. Division games can be tricky.

 

The New England Patriots fell to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon, but once again, rookie quarterback Drake Maye showed some flashes of brilliance. Yes, Maye threw a critical interception, but he also went 30-for-40 with 282 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
Six of Maye's completions went to tight end Hunter Henry, who led the Patriots in catches on the day.
Afterward, Maye raved about Henry and paid him a major compliment. "I'm trying to find 85," Maye said, via Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub. "I think he's one of the best tight ends in this league." Maye targeted Henry nine times in Week 11.

On the season, Henry has hauled in 46 receptions for 491 yards and a touchdown. He leads New England in both catches and receiving yards, and by a wide margin. Henry is now in his fourth season with the Pats, and he is on pace to have his most productive campaign since joining the squad in 2021. The veteran's best year in Foxborough to date came during his debut season with the club, when he caught 50 passes for 603 yards and nine scores.

Obviously, Henry is well behind on touchdowns, but he is certainly tracking toward shattering his marks for both receptions and yards.
The University of Arkansas product was originally selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Henry spent the first five years of his career with the Chargers, with his best campaign coming in 2019 when he snared 55 balls for 652 yards while reaching the end zone five times.

The 29-year-old has never been a truly elite tight end, but he has certainly been reliable, and most importantly, he has represented a perfect security blanket for Maye.

Henry re-signed with the Patriots on a three-year deal last March.

 

The New England Patriots released veteran cornerback Marco Wilson on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Wilson recorded 15 total tackles in 10 games along with a defended pass. He was originally acquired by the Patriots in December 2023 after being claimed off waivers. He played in 11 games for the team, recording 16 total tackles and a pass deflection.

The move came after the Patriots' secondary struggled against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. They allowed 295 passing yards on the day, mostly to Rams star receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp.

The move might have been done to create room for Alex Austin to get back into the mix. The second-year cornerback could be activated from injured reserve soon.

 

After coaching against Patriots quarterback Drake Maye on Sunday, Rams head coach Sean McVay came away impressed.

“He looks like a stud,” McVay said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I didn’t do too much work on him coming out [of college]. I do know a lot of people that studied him really hard, that I truly respect their opinions, and they loved what he was all about. You can just see the impact he has on his teammates. He looks like he’s going to be a special player for a long time.”

The Rams won, but Maye completed 30 of 40 passes for 282 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, and McVay said he gave the Rams’ defense everything it could handle.

“I thought he did a great job making plays in the pocket, was patient, taking some underneath check-downs where guys were able to create. We had tighter coverages and he was able to fit the ball into tight windows,” McVay said.

Six starts into his NFL career, Maye is showing the traits that made the Patriots select him with the third pick in the draft, and giving the Patriots confidence that the biggest piece of their rebuild is in place.

 

Covering Tight Ends has never been a strong suit of the Dolphins. They need to have a plan since the Raiders kinds gave them the blueprint.

 

The Patriots got defensive lineman Christian Barmore on the field for the first time this season last week and they’ll be getting an offensive lineman back this week.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters at his Wednesday press conference that guard Cole Strange will practice with the team for the first time this year. Strange has been out since tearing his patellar tendon in Week 15 last season and is currently on the physically unable to perform list.

Strange was a 2022 first-round pick and became the starting left guard during his rookie season. He has started all 27 games he’s played as a professional.

Strange can be activated at any point in the next 21 days once he’s formally designated to return, so he could be in the lineup in Miami this weekend if all goes well.

 

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill has has missed practice time with a wrist injury the last two weeks, but it looks like he may be taking a new approach to this week.

Hill did not miss any game action and his wrist was feeling well enough for him to take part in practice on a limited basis Wednesday. Assuming there’s no setback, Hill looks to be on track to play against the Patriots this weekend as well.

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey (knee), fullback Alec Ingold (calf), defensive tackle Benito Jones (shoulder), guard Robert Jones (knee, groin), and offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (quad, knee) were also limited participants.

Defensive lineman Calais Campbell and safety Jordan Poyer had rest days. Left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) and cornerback Kendall Fuller (concussion) were the other players to miss practice.

 

When the Dolphins played the Patriots earlier this season, Tyler Huntley started against Jacoby Brissett. This weekend, the two teams will be starting their quarterbacks of the present and future in Tua Tagovailoa and Drake Maye. It’ll be the first of presumably many chances Tagovailoa and Maye have to play one another.

“I respect his game. I respect his game a lot,” Tagovailoa said of Maye in his Wednesday press conference. “He’s a rookie, so there’s going to be bumps within his journey, but you see a lot of flashes of things that he can do, not just inside the pocket, outside of the pocket as well. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and looking forward to competing against him.”

As for that “first of many” narrative, Tagovailoa said that’s just how the league is.

“It’s how it goes,” Tagovailoa said. “I wish him the best in his career that he’s just starting. Tough league, but with the right mindset, with the right people around him surrounding him, I think he’ll be doing good.”

In seven games with six starts this season, Maye has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,236 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions — good for an 87.5 passer rating. He’s also rushed for 260 yards with a TD.

 

The Miami Dolphins defense certainly had its issues with rookie sensation Brock Bowers last weekend, but it wasn't the first time that opposing tight ends have proved problematic.

The Dolphins will be facing another solid tight end in the former of New England Patriots starter Hunter Henry, whose production has gone up since rookie third overall pick Drake Maye has taken over at quarterback.
After Bowers burned the Dolphins for 126 yards and a touchdown, three weeks after Tre McBride of the Arizona Cardinals had nine catches for 124 yards against Miami, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver says all necessary steps will be taken to make sure there's no repeat.

And those steps absolutely could include Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey being assigned to cover Henry at times. That actually was part of the original plan against the Raiders, except there was one little issue that came up.

"I think where we fell short last week was when they had the change in coordinator," Weaver explained Thursday morning. "Really they changed philosophically some of the things they were doing with him. So when those discussions came up, with the previous coordinator with (Luke) Getsy, on third down in particular, Brock was chipping a lot. So the one thing you'd hate to do is you'd have Ramsey on Brock Bowers and he's chipping and going to the flat or something like that.

"In game, you'd like to do some things but there's multiple pieces that have to move in order to make some of those changes. It's usually not just that easy. So we're certainly accounting for Hunter Henry. We know the athlete he is. We've played against him. We feel comfortable with our matchups. And we know that he's certainly a, there's a comfort level there with a Drake make it and we have to account for that."

Henry had only two catches for 32 yards when the Dolphins faced the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Week 5, and one of them was a 25-yard gain on the very final play when he was tackled at the Miami 11-yard line to clinch its 15-10 victory.

But that was with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.

In the five games that Brissett started, Henry had 16 catches; in the six games that Maye has started, he's had 30; so his average has gone from 3.2 receptions a game to 5.0.
Henry has had two games with eight catches this season — one with Brissett, one with Maye — and is coming off a six-catch, 63-yard performance in New England's 28-22 loss against the Los Angeles Rams.

 

Playing through a wrist injury, Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill once again appears set to play. Hill was upgraded from limited to full on Miami’s Thursday injury report. After making just three catches for 16 yards with a TD in Week 10, Hill had seven receptions for 61 yards with a touchdown in last week’s victory over Las Vegas.

Miami also upgraded cornerback Jalen Ramsey (knee) from limited to full on Thursday. Safety Jordan Poyer was back on the field in a limited capacity after receiving a rest day on Wednesday.

Offensive tackle Terron Armstead (knee), cornerback Kendall Fuller (concussion), and defensive tackle Calais Campbell (rest) remained non-participants.

Fullback Alec Ingold (calf), defensive tackle Benito Jones (shoulder), offensive lineman Robert Jones (knee/groin), and offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (quad/knee) remained limited.

Linebacker Tyus Bowser (knee/calf), offensive lineman Aaron Brewer (shoulder/calf), linebacker Jordyn Brooks (wrist), tight end Julian Hill (shoulder), safety Jevon Holland (hand/knee), safety Patrick McMorris (calf), and running back Raheem Mostert (hip) all remained full participants.

 

The Patriots added one of their top defensive players to Friday’s injury report, and he may not be available for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez is now questionable with a hip injury. He was limited in Friday’s practice.

In 11 games this season, Gonzalez has recorded six passes defensed with one interception.

The Patriots have ruled out defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (neck) after he didn’t practice all week.

Defensive tackle Christian Barmore is questionable as he continues his return from blood clots. He was a full participant on Thursday but didn’t practice on Wednesday or Friday.

Offensive tackle Vederian Lowe (shoulder), defensive end Deatrich Wise (foot), safety Kyle Dugger (ankle), safety Marte Mapu (neck), defensive end Keion White (knee), guard Cole Strange (knee), and linebacker Sione Takitaki (knee) are questionable.

Defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (elbow), tight end Austin Hooper (neck), linebacker Christian Elliss (abdomen), and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux (back) are off the injury report and are set to play.

 

That’s good. Armstead is a key here.