TEAM NOTES
- Robert Kraft earns 300th victory in just 25 seasons
- Patriots have top divisional record since 2011
- Belichick become third NFL coach with 280 career wins
- Brady has best winning percentage in division play in NFL history
- Brady is now 14-0 at Gillette Stadium vs. Miami when he starts and finishes
KRAFT FASTEST TO 300 OVERALL WINS
Robert Kraft won his 300th game overall as owner of the New England Patriots against Miami. Mr. Kraft reached the milestone in his 25th NFL season and in his 432nd game, the fastest an owner has reached the milestone. Al Davis of Oakland accomplished the feat in 495 games (31 seasons) while Pat Bowlen of Denver reached 300 career wins in 501 games (30 seasons)
DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE
The New England Patriots own an 82-23 (.781) record in regular season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL.
PATRIOTS IMPROVE TO 8-0 FOLLOWING CONSEUTIVE LOSSES
The team improved to 8-0 following consecutive losses in the same year since the beginning of the 2002 season, which is the last time the Patriots lost more than two games in a row (four games in 2002). This includes one postseason win after losing the final two games of the 2015 regular season. In those contests, the Patriots have outscored their opponents 224-104, or by a margin of 17.2 points per game.
PATRIOTS HAD A 55-YARD TD RECEPTION AND A 22-YARD RUSHING TD
The Patriots scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass from QB Tom Brady to WR Cordarrelle Patterson and a 22-yard touchdown run by RB James White. It is the first time the Patriots have had a 20+ yard rush TD & 50+ yard rec TD in the same again (regular or post) since 2006 Week 17 at Tennessee (12/31/06) - (21-yd rush by Corey Dillon & 62-yd rec by Reche Caldwell).
PATRIOTS HAD 40-PLUS YARDS RUSHING ON OPENING DRIVE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2016
The Patriots had 46 yards rushing on their opening drive of the game, the most since they had 68 yards rushing on the opening drive on Dec. 4, 2016 vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
PATRIOTS RUSH FOR 175 TOTAL YARDS
The Patriots rushed for 175 yards against Miami. Last season, the Patriots rushed over 170 yards three times – 196 vs. Miami on Nov. 26, 191 yards at Buffalo on Dec. 3 and 193 yards vs. Buffalo on Dec. 24.
PATRIOTS HAD THREE-TD DRIVES OF 5-PLUS MINUTES IN A GAME FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2007
The Patriots had three touchdown drives of five-plus minutes in a game for the first time since Nov. 28, 2007 at Buffalo when they had three such drives.
PATRIOTS HOLD MIAMI TO JUST 11 FIRST DOWNS AND 172 TOTAL YARDS
The Patriots defense limited the Miami Dolphins to just 11 first downs and 172 total yards, the lowest totals since holding the Los Angeles Rams to just 7 first downs and 162 total yards on Dec. 4, 2016 at Gillette Stadium.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
BELICHICK BECOMES THIRD NFL COACH WITH 280 CAREER WINS
Bill Belichick earned his 280th career win with the victory over Miami. He is the third NFL coach to earn at least 300 career win.
BELICHICK IS GOOD IN DIVISION PLAY
The win over Miami was the 99th division win for Bill Belichick, third all-time among NFL coaches.
BRADY BEST EVER IN DIVISION PLAY
Tom Brady now has a 77-19 record in division play as a starter for a winning percentage of (.802) for first among all NFL quarterbacks with 25-plus starts against division opponents.
BRADY IMPROVES TO 14-0 AGAINST MIAMI AT GILLETTE STADIUM WHEN HE STARTS AND FINISHES
Tom Brady improved to a 14-0 record against Miami at Gillette Stadium when he starts and finishes a game. The Patriots only loss with Tom Brady as the starter at Gillette Stadium was the final game of the 2005 season when Brady played just the first quarter.
BRADY HAS THROWN TOUCHDOWN PASSES TO 70 DIFFERENT PLAYERS; TIED FOR FIRST PLACE FOR TD TARGETS BY A QB
Tom Brady connected with WR Cordarrelle Patterson on a 55-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Brady has thrown a touchdown pass to 70 different players in the regular season, to tie Vinny Testaverde for the most touchdown targets by a quarterback.
BRADY TIES BREES FOR MOST 50-YARD TD PASSES SINCE 2001
Tom Brady's 55-yard touchdown pass to WR Cordarrelle Patterson is his 41st touchdown pass of 50 or more yards since 2001, tying Drew Brees for the most in the NFL during that time frame.
PATTERSON HAS FIRST TD RECEPTION AS A MEMBER OF THE PATRIOTS:
SECOND-LONGEST TD RECEPTION OF HIS CAREER
WR Cordarrelle Patterson scored on a 55-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. It is the second-longest touchdown reception of his career and the third-longest reception of his career. He had a 79-yard touchdown reception at Baltimore on Dec. 8, 2013 as a rookie with Minnesota. He had a 59-yard reception on Dec. 3, 2017 when he played with Oakland last year. In 2018, the Patriots had for 50-yard pass plays, including a 64-yard touchdown pass from Brady to WR Brandin Cooks at Oakland (11/19/17) and a 53-yard touchdown pass from Brady to TE Rob Gronkowski at New Orleans (9/17/17).
PATTERSON IS 22ND PLAYER TO CATCH A 50-YARD TD FROM BRADY;
BREAKING A TIE WITH JACK KEMP FOR MOST ALL-TIME
Patterson is the 22nd different player to catch a 50-yard touchdown reception from Brady, breaking a tie with Jack Kemp for the most all-time.
CYRUS JONES HAS CAREER-LONG RETURN
DB Cyrus Jones returned a second quarter punt a career-long 24 yards. His previous best was a 23-yard return vs. Houston on Sept. 22, 2016.
GRONKOWSKI MOVES PAST COATES TO BECOME PATS ALL-TIME TIGHT END REC. LEADER
Gronkowski moved past Ben Coats to become the all-time receptions leader for a Patriots tight end. He entered the Miami game needing four receptions to move past Coates and accomplished the feat on a 9-yard pass in the third quarter for his fourth reception of the game. Gronkowski now has 491 career receptions, fourth in team history.
GRONKOWSKI MOVES INTO 8TH PLACE TIE ON THE ALL-TIME LIST FOR TIGHT ENDS
Rob Gronkowski finished with 44 receiving yards to move into a tie for 8th place all-time among NFL tight ends with Pete Retzlaff for 7,412 yards.
RB JAMES WHITE CATCHES TD PASSES; LEADS ALL RUNNING BACK SINCE 2015;
TIES KEVIN FAULK FOR THE SECOND-MOST RECEIVING TDS BY A PATS RUNNING BACK
RB James White scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from QB Tom Brady in the third quarter. It marked his 15th receiving touchdown since 2015, the most by a running back in the NFL during that time. It is the third-most by a Patriots running back, behind Larry Garron (26) and Kevin Faulk (15).
JAMES WHITE SCORES ON A CAREER-LONG 22-YARD RUN;
LONGEST RUN IN THE REGULAR SEASON
RB James White scored in the second quarter on a career-long 22-yard run. His previous long was a 16-yard run vs. Miami On Sept. 18, 16. He had a 26-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl LII vs. Philadelphia on Feb. 4, 2018.
WHITE HAS SECOND REGULAR SEASON 2-TD GAME
RB James White scored two times against Miami. He scored on a 22-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 14-yard reception in the third quarter. It is the second time in his career that he has scored two touchdowns in a regular season game. He scored on a 20-yard pass and a 6-yard reception vs. Buffalo on Nov. 23, 2015. He has two postseason games with at least two touchdowns.
WHITE PRODUCES IN THE PASSING GAME
RB James White finished with a team-leading 8 receptions for 68 yards. It was his fifth game in the regular season with 8 or more receptions.
ROOKIE SONY MICHEL GOES OVER 100 YARDS;
FIRST PATS ROOKIE TO GO OVER 100 YARDS SINCE BRANDON BOLDEN EXACTLY SIX YEARS AGO
First-round draft pick RB Sony Michel had his first NFL 100-yard rushing game after finishing with 112 yards on 25 carries for a 4.5-yard average. He is the first Patriots rookie to reach 100 yards rushing in a game since RB Brandon Bolden gained 137 yards at Buffalo on Sept. 30, 2012, exactly six years ago.
MICHEL SCORES FIRST TD AS A MEMBER OF THE PATRIOTS
Michel scored his first NFL touchdown on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter.
ROOKIE FREE AGENT DB J.C. JACKSON HAS FIRST CAREER PICK
Rookie free agent DB J.C. Jackson intercepted a QB Ryan Tannehill pass in the third quarter for his first NFL interception. It is the second straight week that a Patriots rookie intercepted a pass. LB Ja'Whaun Bentley had a pick at Detroit. The last time that happened was in 2013 when Logan Ryan recorded interceptions in back to back games his rookie year.
LINEUP NOTES
NEW FACES – FOUR PATRIOTS MAKE THEIR DEBUT
RB Kenjon Barner, WR Josh Gordon, OL Brian Schwenke and DE John Simon made their debuts in a Patriots uniform.
JOSH GORDON MAKES A START IN HIS DEBUT
Gordon made his Patriots debut and was in the starting lineup. His first reception was a 13-yard reception in the first quarter to give the Patriots a first down at the Miami 3-yard line. He finished with 2 receptions for 32 yards.
S PATRICK CHUNG AND DL TREY FLOWERS RETURN TO ACTION
S Patrick Chung and DL Trey Flowers both returned to action and were in the starting lineup after missing the game at Detroit due to injury.
NEWLY ACQUIRED DE JOHN SIMON RECORDS FIRST SACK
Newly acquired DE John Simon sacked Miami QB Ryan Tannehill for a 10-yard in the fourth quarter for his first sack as a member of the Patriots.
