FOXBORO — No Marcus Jones? No problem.
The New England Patriots took care of business to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 23-21 win over the Miami Dolphins Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Despite getting two touchdown passes from Mac Jones, one to Jakobi Meyers and another to Tyquan Thornton, the Patriots' offense still struggled to produce only 17 points. New England’s running game was also nonexistent as Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson combined for just 74 yards.
So how did Bill Belichick’s squad pull off the victory to get back to .500?
Another defensive score by Kyle Dugger.
Sparked once again by their defense, the Patriots evened their record at 8-8 by dominating the Dolphins, particularly in the second half. Dugger’s third-quarter Pick Six gave New England a 16-14 lead it would not give up.
Dugger snatched a Teddy Bridgewater pass intended for Tyreek Hill and weaved his way through traffic for a 39-yard touchdown.
It was the third defensive touchdown of the season for Dugger — the first Patriot to reach that level since 1970. It was the fourth straight game the defense has scored and the seventh overall this season — both franchise records.
“I think you’re going to have to write Kyle a blank check — that’s how good he is,” said Matthew Judon.
“Kyle’s an elite athlete,” said cornerback Jonathan Jones, who added a late, acrobatic toe-tapping interception of Skylar Thompson. “You have to deal with him.’’
Devin McCourty recognized how much of a spark Dugger's game-changing play was.
"We talked last night about scoring on defense, which we've done four weeks in a row. It's something that's given us a great boost as a team," McCourty said. "We needed him today. Stepped up big. I would say over the latter part of the season he's played great football. Really proud just to be able to be in there with him. His production and studying, his process throughout the season, it's no wonder it's paying off. The guy has been tremendous."
The victory certainly helped add some confidence after back-to-back bitter-ending losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
Now, New England can clinch a wild-card spot with a win next weekend in Buffalo, or losses by Miami, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh.
You can follow Kevin Tame Jr. on Twitter @Kevin_Tame
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2023-01-02 19:00:00Z
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