Four Studs, Four Duds From Patriots Thrilling Win Over Dolphins

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but the New England Patriots earned their first win of the 2025 campaign in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins. With the final score settling in at 33-27, the Patriots did a good job of bouncing back after a rough outing in Week 1, but there are still some areas that need to be cleaned up.

Drake Maye and the offense had quite a bit of success moving the ball in this one, but the defense struggled to slow down Miami’s offense, particularly in the second half. With the game officially in the books, let’s check out the studs and duds from this big win for New England.

Studs

Drake Maye

After an uneven performance in Week 1, Maye was surgical against the Dolphins, completing 19 of his 23 pass attempts for 230 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 31 yards and another score. Most importantly, he didn’t commit a turnover, giving him some positive momentum to carry into Week 3.

Milton Williams

There’s no doubt that the four-year, $104 million contract Milton Williams signed in free agency last offseason is a bit pricy, but he looked to be worth every penny of it on Sunday. Williams racked up three tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for a loss, with his second sack of Tagovailoa ending Miami’s final offensive possession of the game.

Antonio Gibson

In Week 1, Antonio Gibson was practically invisible, but he was hard to miss in this one. Right after Malik Washington gave the Dolphins the lead with a 74-yard punt return touchdown, Gibson ran the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the end zone to give the Pats the lead back. Gibson also picked up 27 yards on five carries and caught one pass for one yard.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Much has been made about the emergence of TreVeyon Henderson, but Rhamondre Stevenson proved he’s still the top dog in the running back room, rushing for 54 yards on 11 carries and leading the team with 88 receiving yards on five receptions. With Henderson struggling, Stevenson appears to be the clear No. 1 running back for the time being.

Duds

Andy Borregales

Andy Borregales’ first two NFL games have been pretty rough. After missing a field goal attempt in Week 1, Borregales missed a pair of extra point attempts early against Miami. He redeemed himself with a big 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but he promptly missed the landing zone on the ensuing kickoff to put himself right back in the doghouse.

TreVeyon Henderson

The hype surrounding Henderson entering the season has quickly been tempered, as he was the No. 3 running back for much of this game. While he racked up 30 yards on two receptions, Henderson only got three carries on the ground, which he turned into 10 yards. He also committed three penalties, which surely didn’t make Mike Vrabel too happy.

Alex Austin

Filling in for the injured Christian Gonzalez, Alex Austin was picked on frequently throughout this game. Tagovailoa targeted him in coverage seven times, completing six of his passes for 98 yards and a touchdown, good for a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Austin isn’t a bad corner, but he’s in over his head right now.

Morgan Moses

New England’s offensive line was getting penalized all day long, but it was surprising to see the veteran Morgan Moses rack up three penalties in this one. The Miami heat likely didn’t help, but Moses is lucky Borregales hit his 53-yard field goal, or else the five-yard penalty he received right before it likely would have made him the subject of more criticism.