FOXBOROUGH -- It is highly unlikely the winless Miami Dolphins' season will conclude as an inverse of the undefeated 1972 team. To go 0-16 is as difficult as finishing 17-0. But this season's edition is well on its way to becoming one of the most futile in Miami's stellar history.
Want to know how to win a game in the National Football League? Study this year's Dolphins and do the opposite.
They move the ball on offense then botch drives with faulty execution. They follow big stops on defense by giving up big plays. They commit costly penalties on both sides of the ball.
That's why yesterday's 24-10 loss to the Patriots not only left Miami 0-5, but it marked the most lopsided defeat of the season for a team whose average margin of defeat had been 7.8 points. While the Patriots celebrated having set an NFL record with their 19th consecutive win, including postseason, Miami's loss marked its longest losing skein since 1993.
"The Patriots play smart football. You have to give them credit. That's the reason they've won 19 straight," said Miami linebacker Zach Thomas. "We didn't play smart football, and that will get you beat. That's the reason why we haven't won a game."
Miami finished with more penalty yards (86 on 12 infractions) than net rushing yards (67). They amassed 257 passing yards but just two rushing first downs. Moreover, two of the Patriots' three touchdowns were scored off Miami turnovers. The Dolphins have yet to score in the first quarter this season.
"We continue to give ourselves a chance to win, but we don't make enough plays on offense," said Miami coach Dave Wannstedt. "We are just making too many negative plays. We get a first down and somebody jumps offside. Turnovers, we're giving them the short field to operate on. It's frustrating for everybody."
In the second quarter, Miami scored its only touchdown of the game to trim the Patriots' lead to 3, then held New England on downs. Miami then stalled on its ensuing possession and with 3:21 left was forced to punt.
However, Matt Turk mishandled the snap, and though it appeared he had time to recover and still get the kick off, he ran -- only to be stopped 4 yards short of a first down.
Asked what happened on the play, Wannstedt said, "I had no idea. He said the snap was a little bit high, which it was, but you need to kick the ball. But how do you second-guess him on that?"
Turk said he wasn't sure whether he would have had time to get the ball off. "After I mishandled the snap, I tried to re-grip it, and I didn't re-grip the ball well," he said. "At that point, I figured that someone was going to be there, so I made up my mind that I was going to run with the ball.
"In hindsight it looked like I could have kicked the ball away, whatever way I could have, and gotten rid of it downfield," said Turk. "That's probably what I should have done."
Turk's blunder gave the Patriots possession with 3:15 left in the first half, and two plays later New England had moved the ball from the Miami 46 to the 23, courtesy of a 2-yard run by Corey Dillon and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Dolphins safety Sammy Knight.
The Patriots then scored with 36 seconds left on a 5-yard pass from Tom Brady to David Givens, and New England led, 17-7, at halftime.
It was the one time all afternoon the Dolphins appeared to have the upper hand, and they had themselves to blame for having lost momentum.
Then, with 2:51 left in the game, Miami moved the ball to the Patriots' 1 on a 45-yard pass from Jay Fiedler to wide receiver Marty Booker, who knocked down the pylon at the left corner of the end zone but was ruled to have been pushed out of bounds before breaking the plane.
When it appeared the game might be headed to a dramatic finish, Miami hit rock bottom.
Fiedler was stopped short of the goal line on first down, then he was sacked for a 12-yard loss by safety Rodney Harrison. Fiedler aggravated a rib injury on the play and was replaced by A.J. Feeley, who had replaced Fiedler as the starter earlier this season.
Fiedler said that earlier in the game he fell to the turf after being hit and the ball landed on a sore spot of his ribs. "I was able to get through most of the game with it, but on that last play, I just took a direct hit on the rib," he said.
After completing a 6-yard pass, Feeley had a pass broken up by Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi on fourth down, and he suffered a concussion after being leveled by linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. The Patriots secured a milestone and Miami was left struggling for answers for another week.
"We have to put points on the board," said Fiedler. "It's too bad, we felt pretty good about moving the ball and you look up on the scoreboard and you only see 10 points. We have to regroup and try to go back next week and try to get a win again."
