MIAMI — For the past decade, no team beat the New England Patriots on opening weekend.
The Miami Dolphins emphatically changed that trend Sunday, pushing the Patriots around on both sides of the ball and shutting them out in the second half for a 33-20 victory at Sun Life Stadium.
“I don’t think anyone wearing a blue jersey played well out there today,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. “We have to get better in all areas and that’s on us. In the third quarter we became a one-dimensional team. Give (the Dolphins) credit. We’ll learn from it and get better from it.”
New England’s loss snapped a 10-game winning streak on opening weekend, the NFL’s longest active streak entering the season. A win Sunday would have equaled Miami’s own 11-game opening game winning streak it had from 1992-2002.
“It was a great game, but it’s just the first game,” Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon said. “Nobody really gave us a shot, but the offense showed up and the defense showed up. We knew we had to stretch Tom Brady and force turnovers. Turnovers win games. I’m just glad we got this win.”
The Dolphins scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to deny the Patriots and, despite playing without their top linebacker corps for most of the game, Miami did it with a fierce pass rush and consistent running game.
The Dolphins sacked Brady four times, led by defensive end Cameron Wake’s two fumble-forcing sacks at key moments in the game.
The first came with 9:14 left in the third quarter and the Dolphins trailing 20-13. Four plays after Louis Delmas’ recovery at the New England 34, the Dolphins tied the game at 20 when quarterback Ryan Tannehill found wide receiver Mike Wallace for a 14-yard score.
Wake’s second strip-sack with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter and the Dolphins leading 30-20 resulted in another takeaway and sealed the outcome.
The Dolphins’ running game, a major concern entering the season, came to life — especially in the second half. In his first game as a Dolphin, tailback Knowshon Moreno finished with 134 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown, earning the bulk of the work in the second and third quarter following Lamar Miller’s fumble.
Miami rushed for 192 yards overall. Miller also finished with 59 yards on 11 carries, and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
“We talked about having to stop the run,” Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “I don’t know how much they finished with, but they definitely out-executed us.”
With Miami’s linebackers depleted by injuries, rookie Chris McCain stepped up both on defense and special teams.
Patriots punter Ryan Allen dropped the snap, giving McCain a chance to surge in and block it. Jason Trusnik recovered for the Dolphins at the Patriots’ 15-yard line. The play set up Miami’s first score.
“We kept our poise out there no matter what happened,” McCain said. “I just feel blessed. I was going with what the coaches put out there. I’m just looking forward to the next 15 games.”
Before rallying for the win, the Dolphins had to overcome a sloppy first half in which they turned the ball over three times in leading to 10 New England points.
The Patriots put together two long touchdown drives that totaled 24 plays and 174 yards.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Shane Vereen capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that tied the game 7-7.
Two drives later, Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a 6-yard touchdown pass that gave New England a 17-7 lead.
NOTES: With a 16-yard completion to Gronkowski late in the first half, Brady moved into sixth place on the all-time passing yardage list, surpassing Warren Moon. … Dolphins LBs Koa Misi (ankle) and Dannell Ellerbe (hip) both suffered injuries in the first quarter and did not return. A third starting linebacker, Phillip Wheeler (thumb) was inactive because of his injury.