The New England Patriots remain at the top of the NFL power rankings and the defending Super Bowl champions are only getting better.
Beating up on the lowly Miami Dolphins is nothing to pound your chest about, but the way the New England Patriots defense performed in the team’s 43-0 stomping of the fish showcased how good and how much of a complete team the defending Super Bowl champions are.
In improving their record to 2-0, the Patriots maintain their No. 1 position in NFL.com’s Week 3 power rankings. This week, they come in ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens to round out the top five.
The biggest movers this week were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who rose nine spots to No. 22 with a Week 2 win over Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. The biggest sliders were the New Orleans Saints after losing Drew Brees to a thumb injury. Who Dat Nation saw their team drop all the way down to No. 16.
With the way the Patriots defense is playing, would the team suffer a similar fate if Tom Brady were to miss some games or the rest of the season?
That is something Patriots Nation don’t want to think about.
The Good
Sunday was like a scrimmage for the New England Patriots.
Yes, the Miami Dolphins are just that bad.
Not only were they able to get newly acquired and controversial receiver Antonio Brown going early in the offense, the running game got a boost from Sony Michel showing way more life than he did the previous week.
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Michel racked up 85 yards rushing on the ground with a touchdown. Not only did he look quicker than he looked against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, he looked more decisive hitting the holes.
Also, of note is the continuing reliability of Phillip Dorsett. This man simply catches everything thrown his way seemingly at important times in the game. With the firepower Tom Brady now has in Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman, having a secret weapon like Dorsett as the No. 4 and eventually No. 5 wide receiver on the depth chart is a benefit to an offense that can win in different ways.
And then there is that defense. Allowing just three points in the first two games, Bill Belichick has his defense ballin’. After a seven sack and four interceptions performance down in Miami, the Patriots proved they don’t need to be too dominant on offense to beat many of the teams on their schedule.
NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus pumps up the defense, writing:
"“Antonio Brown made his Patriots debut, finishing with four catches and the first touchdown reception of his career on a pass not thrown by Ben Roethlisberger. Mr. Big Chest fireworks aside, this was not a dominant performance by a Patriots offense in cruise control against a truly woeful Dolphins team. It’s a reminder that New England’s most talented unit is the defense, which you know just tickles an old DC like Bill Belichick.”"
To think, it’s only going to get better for this New England Patriots defense as it typically does as the season moves forward.
The Bad
There wasn’t much bad in the New England Patriots 43-0 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Offensively, Josh Gordon didn’t get many opportunities and the team probably didn’t score as much points in the first half as they should’ve.
The main concern exiting the game, however, was the offensive line. Much of that centers around injury as right tackle Marcus Cannon missed the game outright and left tackle Isaiah Wynn left the game early with a toe injury that will now land him on injured reserve until late in the same.
Sounds like misfortune, but if there is any team and any coach who could patchwork an offensive line it is the Patriots and Dante Scarnecchia. Offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse struggled in the game, but the veteran will get it together to at least be serviceable as the season wanes forward.
The team also signed offensive lineman Caleb Beneoch to help fill some of the void. The 25-year-old veteran spent three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 22 starts in 35 games played.
The Ugly
The one player on the field the least, is the one player who left points on the board.
Veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski continued to struggle in Miami with a missed field goal and two extra point shanks.
Yes, the team won the game comfortably 43-0, but those very makeable kicks could play a role in a closer game against a more viable opponent.
While Gostkowski is the team’s all-time leading scorer, the missed kicks have become a troublesome trend over the last few seasons, particularly in the playoffs. Is it time to bring in some competition for the 35-year-old veteran?
Its surprising Bill Belichick hasn’t already done so. However, sometimes a player’s toughest competition is the expectations they hold for themselves.
"“Every year has different challenges and different ways you feel,” Gostkowski told former Patriots beat writer Kevin Duffy. “You do the best you can with what you’ve got. And this hasn’t been the best start, but I’m not going to throw in the towel.”"
If there is any area of weakness on this New England Patriots team, it is a banged up offensive line and the battle of confidence in Stephen Gostkowski.