Miami Dolphins: 3 major takeaways from Week 1 vs. Patriots

The Miami Dolphins won a nail-biter against the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.

Miami moves to 1-0, with the Patriots obviously moving to 0-1.

It wasn’t just a big win for Miami in their own game, as the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets also lost.

Buffalo is the team to beat in the division, so it was big for Miami to get a game on them early in the season.

Miami and Buffalo will play in Week 2, so a Dolphins win over the Bills will be that much bigger. For now, let’s focus on Miami’s Week 1 victory, as it was a great way to start the year.

There was some good and bad in the Miami Dolphins Week 1 victory.

Whenever you travel to Foxborough for a game, you know it will be a hard-fought battle, which is exactly what the Dolphins got. The Patriots played tough and did a lot better than a lot of people thought.

Rookie quarterback Mac Jones played impressive football in his first career start, and he did so against a very good Miami defense. Jones led his team to convert 11 of their 16 third downs, which was a big reason the Patriots had a chance to win.

Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa played well, throwing a touchdown and running one in from three yards out. Tagovailoa was able to do enough to win the game, and ultimately the Dolphins would win the game 17-16.

There was a lot to unpack from the game, but here are my three major takeaways from Miami’s Week 1 victory against the Patriots.