The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins met on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium, and Jerod Mayo's team was handed a 34-15 loss, their second of the season to Miami.
New England now sits at 3-9 through the first 12 games of their 2024 campaign, and the loss dropped them into last place in the AFC East, behind the New York Jets, who were off on their bye week.
Sunday's result was disappointing, but it wasn't exactly surprising because this team just can't compete with the league's best.
As we continue to soak in this loss, let's discuss what we learned from the Patriots' performance in Week 12.
New England can't stop Tua Tagovailoa
It doesn't matter who's coaching either team, or who is under center for New England, Tagovailoa will light up the Patriots every opportunity he gets.
In his career, the former Crimson Tide quarterback is now 7-0 against the Patriots, and in those games, he's completed 69.1% of his passes for 1,616 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Against New England, he has a 98.8 career passer rating.
If you don't pressure him, he's going to tear you apart, and he did just that on Sunday.
Vederian Lowe can't be a starting tackle on this team
The Patriots went into the offseason knowing they needed to address the left tackle position, but Eliot Wolf's plan was lackluster and has failed to this point.
Instead, they've had to thrust Lowe back into a starting role, and he's not holding up well. On Sunday, he was called for four penalties and was giving up pressure that impacted Drake Maye's ability to make plays from the pocket.
This is something that Wolf (or whoever is in his role next year) needs to address this offseason and not by bringing in two right tackles and hoping they can play on the left side.
Cornerback should be a top priority in the offseason
New England used their first-round pick on a cornerback last offseason, and Christian Gonzalez has looked like a star so far. However, beyond that, the Patriots are lacking talented cover cornerbacks.
Marcus Jones is simply too small to compete at the position, and Jonathan Jones is getting older. Marco Wilson, who had played 32% of the team's defensive snaps through their first 11 games, was cut because of his inability to slow down his matchups.
This offseason, New England has to find someone else to put out there because Gonzalez can't cover any one, and with the front not getting pressure, it does no good to have just one lockdown cornerback. Someone is going to get open eventually.
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