The New England Patriots were clicking in all three phases of the game in a 21-11 victory against the Miami Dolphins.
Cam Newton came out with 15 rushes, 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, along with 155 passing yards. The team collectively rushed for 217 yards, which was the most among NFL teams after one week of play. Jake Bailey looked incredible punting the ball and Nick Folk looked to have promise, despite a missed 45-yarder.
The defense collected a league-leading three interceptions, continuing on from the league-high 25 picks they had last season. Everything about New England’s win showed promise after the departure of Tom Brady, but one aspect stood out especially to Tedy Bruschi.
The former Patriots standout linebacker joined WEEI’s ‘Ordway, Merloni & Fauria’ this week and discussed.
“What was real and what you can know is going to be there for you every single week is I was just so impressed with the dominance of the interior in terms of [David] Andrews, [Joe] Thuney, [Shaq] Mason, you see Isaiah Wynn out there throwing people around,” he said. “The offensive line was just great in my opinion in terms of how they ran the football and Cam being able to do the things that he did.
Just the movement that they are getting. When you’re watching from the sideline view and you’re watching on TV, and you just see the line of scrimmage move two yards. I think there’s real potential in this group. Andrews being back is just great. I think that’s real.”
If the Patriots want to continue this run-heavy, defensive-dominant gameplan, the offensive line will have to hold up. They proved to do that in Week 1 and it’ll be especially important they play strong against the difficult matchups in the near future.
The Patriots begin a difficult stretch of games with the Seattle Seahawks on the road Sunday night.
