Five Things to Know About the Patriots Win

Five Things to Know About the Patriots Win

It was the first game in the post-Brady era and Cam Newton did everything he could to establish a new era. 

Newton put the Patriots on his back and looked like his old MVP-self.

The Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 21-11 and dismantled what was supposed to be a much-improved run defense for the Dolphins.

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“I thought the players were in good condition,” Bill Belichick after the game. “I thought conditioning was a big factor for us, so that’s a credit to their hard work, and we stepped up and made some big plays when we needed to throughout the game.”

 

Here are five things to know about the Patriots win.

1. The Patriots Linebackers — With the loss of free agents and opt-outs, the linebacking starters were all new -- and played fast and tackled. Chase Winovich had 6 tackles.

 

2. Newton-Factor — The free-agent quarterback that no one wanted ran for 75 years on 15 carries and threw 15 for 19 with a quarterback rating of 100. (Brady had two interceptions and a QB rating of 78)

 

3. Run, run, run —The team ran for more than 200 yards and rookie J.J. Taylor all of 5’5” was explosive in limited carries — 4 rushes for 28 yards.

 

4. Receiving core — Okay, let's skip this one, as Julian Edelman had an ugly drop and N'Keal Henry had a fumble out of the end zone as he was going in for a score.

 

5. Bill 1, Tom 0 — Can Belichick win without Tom Brady? Sure looks like he can with Newton. Brady did however have an adorable commercial for Frito-Lay. 

 

Before the excitement gets too high, the Patriots have a brutal schedule coming up with Seattle, Kansas City, and Baltimore in the mix.