With a loss to the Dolphins, New England will be out of playoff contention
New England- The Patriots are out of the playoff race, as they lost to the Dolphins 22-12.
After the Bills wrapped up the division on Saturday against the Denver Broncos, the Patriots was trying to play spoiler to the Dolphins. In the first half, the Patriots had a couple of drives that showed potential, but stalled because of dropped passes. With under .16 seconds left in the first quarter, the Patriots picked off the Dolphins in the endzone. They took the turnover and cashed in on a 45- yard field-goal by Nick Folk to get on the scoreboard, 3-0.
Before the end of the half, the Patriots tacked on a field-goal to go in the locker room with 6-0 lead over the Dolphins. New England had a total of 132 yards in two quarters and was 1 of 5 on third down conversions.
At the start of the third quarter, New England's secondary was getting carved up by the Dolphins. A mixture of pass and run helped the Dolphins get into the endzone, which put Miami on top of the Patriots, 7-6.
On the ensuing drive, Newton threw a 20-yard strike to Jason Myers, but Myers fumbled the ball, as the ball was punched out of his hand. Miami recovered the fumble. Despite the turnover, New England's defense came up big, as they forced a three and out.
Midway in the quarter, Newton hit Myers for a 31-yard pass and catch at the 30-yard line, which put the Patriots in field-goal position. Four plays later, New England tacked on a field goal to retake the lead, 9-7.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Tua Tagovailoa called his own number and scored a touchdown. Miami decided to go for a two point conversion and converted the down, which put them back on top of New England, 15-9. New England answer the score with another field goal to cut the Dolphins' lead to three, 15-12.
With under three minutes left in regulation, New England's defense could not stop Tagovailoa, as he iced the game with his second touchdown on the ground to extend Miami's lead to 22-12.
Newton finished 17 of 27 with 209 yards threw the air and 38 yards on the ground.
