FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ All the chatter about New England's demise, the fall of the Patriots dynasty, was drastically overstated.
The Miami Dolphins annual trip to Foxborough looked the same as it has for the past decade, with the Dolphins self destructing at some point in the game _ this time in the second quarter, where New England built a 24-0 lead _ and having to dig themselves out of a massive hole.
Problem was coach Adam Gase's offense left it's shovel, and the team's big-play offense, at home in Sunday's 38-7 loss to the Patriots, which produced Miami's first loss of the season and ended New England's two-game losing streak, and should silence all the talk about Miami dethroning the Patriots for AFC East supremacy.
Tom Brady, who completed 23-of-35 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns against the Dolphins, pushed his record to 16-0 in starts he's made in Foxborough against the Dolphins, who haven't won in Gillette Stadium since 2008.
New England produced points on four of the Patriots' first six offensive drives. Stephen Gostkowski's 20-yard field goal concluded the Patriots first possession, and then receiver Cordarrelle Patterson found himself wide open downfield because of a pick-play and turned the run-after-catch play into a 55-yard touchdown.
Then Travis Swanson, who was in the game for starting center Daniel Kilgore, who suffered an arm injury in the second quarter, snapped a ball quarterback Ryan Tannehill fumbled and New England recovered on Miami's 22-yard line.
Just like all Bill Belichick teams are known to do, the Patriots capitalized on Miami's mistake quickly as James White produced a 22-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to, 17-0.
It didn't take long for New England to build on that three-score lead considering they started wearing down Miami's injury-depleted defensive front with the run game.
The Dolphins, who were playing without William Hayes and Andre Branch for the first time because of the knee injuries that got Hayes placed on injured reserve and will sideline Branch for a couple more weeks, allowed 175 rushing yards on 40 carries to the Patriots, and 118 of those came in the first half, when the game was still within reach for Miami.
A good portion of those yards came on New England's final offensive drive of the first half, which concluded with Phillip Dorsett scoring on a 9-yard touchdown reception, which pushed the Patriots lead to 24 points.
The Dolphins would continue to get carved up in the second half, which featured a 14-yard touchdown reception from James White, and Sony Michel's 10-yard rushing touchdown.
Michel, who the Patriots selected in the first round of this year's draft, produced his first 100-yard rushing performance against his hometown team, gaining 112 yards on 25 carries.
The Dolphins eventually waved the white flag midway through the fourth quarter, replacing Tannehill with Brock Osweiler, whose 6-yard touchdown pass to tailback Frank Gore prevented the third shutout of the Gase era.
So what was billed as a statement game between the biggest NFL power and the Dolphins, who have lived in New England's shadows for nearly two decades, turned out to be a blowout, one that reminds the rest of the league that New England hasn't lost its swagger.
