New England Patriots: Studs and duds vs. Dolphins in Week 17

Studs and duds from the New England Patriots in their disappointing Week 17 loss to the Dolphins that dropped them to the No. 3 seed in the AFC.

The New England Patriots went into the final game of the 2019 NFL regular season as one of the teams around the league still with something left to play for in Week 17. On Sunday afternoon, the Patriots needed to grab a win at home in Foxborough to be able to grab the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff standings ahead of the start of the postseason.

While hosting the Miami Dolphins, New England fell in a surprising loss at home to the struggling Dolphins in the final seconds of the contest, dropping the game, 27-24.

The back-and-forth contest started with Miami getting out in front on the road to grab an early lead at Gillette Stadium. The Dolphins were able to snag a 3-0 advantage after the opening quarter of action, while the Patriots were able to even things up at 10-10 going into halftime.

In the second half, New England attempted to make a second-half push to come away with the victory at home ahead of the start of the playoffs but fell to Miami to drop the Patriots in the AFC playoff picture.

With the win, the Dolphins were able to finish the 2019 campaign on a positive note while grabbing an overall record of 5-11 on the season. It was a year filled with struggles for Miami, but it capped it off with a big win on the road against New England.

In the loss, the Patriots dropped to the No. 3 overall seed in the AFC postseason picture and will miss out on a first-round bye when the playoffs begin. New England, which wrapped up the year with a record of 12-4 overall, will go into the postseason while surprisingly struggling.

Now with the regular-season schedule in the books for New England, let’s dive back into the Week 17 game from Sunday afternoon and pick out three Patriots studs and duds.