Patriots-Dolphins Stock Watch: Disastrous showing for o-line duo originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Who’s to blame for the New England Patriots getting dismantled by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday?
The Patriots had issues across the board at Hard Rock Stadium, from a lack of discipline (seven penalties for 75 yards) to a porous pass defense (Tua Tagovailoa threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns) to shoddy protection around rookie quarterback Drake Maye (New England allowed four sacks and eight QB hits, one of which was a strip sack of Maye).
It all culminated in a 34-15 loss that was far more lopsided than the final score, as Miami held a 31-0 lead before a late Patriots rally.
As you might expect, our Patriots Insider Phil Perry had no problem identifying “Stock Down” players from the Week 12 loss. The “Stock Up” category was a bit more challenging, as there were few silver linings from a defeat that drops New England to 3-9 on the season.
Nonetheless, Perry found a pair of bright spots from an otherwise dismal showing in Miami Gardens. Here are Perry’s “Stock Up” and “Stock Down” selections for Week 12.
Stock Down
Demontrey Jacobs, right tackle
Perry: “His stock is down after having a holding penalty. He also committed a false start penalty, and he had a heck of a time trying to keep Chop Robinson, the rookie first-round pick out of Penn State, under wraps.
“It just felt as though whenever Chop Robinson decided he was going to get to the quarterback when going against Demontrey Jacobs, he was going to get to the quarterback.”
Vederian Lowe, left tackle
Perry: “Vederian Lowe committed three false start penalties. He was trying to time the snap count (and) was trying to get an extra little bit of a jump, he said in the locker room after the fact. But he also committed a holding penalty as well.
“He wasn’t benched the way Demontrey Jacobs was in favor of Sidy Sow late in this game. But he has to be in our ‘Stock Down’ category.
Kyle Dugger, safety
Perry: “Dugger appeared to be on the scene for multiple Miami Dolphins touchdowns. He looks a beat slow.
“He has been dealing with an ankle injury for weeks now, and it does look like it’s limiting him on the field, because whether it’s something physical or it’s something mental or it’s something in terms of his processing ability, he just looks a tick behind.”
Stock Up
Christian Gonzalez, cornerback
Perry: “Christian Gonzalez I thought played well despite dealing with a hip injury. It appeared like he was a game-time decision coming into this one because he had to go through a little bit of a workout with coaches and trainers looking on, but he was able to play, and he played well.
“He allowed two catches on two targets — one each to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. He also had a scoop-and-score 63-yard touchdown.”
Christian Barmore, defensive tackle
Perry: “We’re gonna put the other Christian, Christian Barmore, in the ‘Stock Up’ category here as well. Picks up his first sack of the season after missing the majority of this year due to blood clots.
“So, good for him to get back on the field, play, and play well enough to get into the backfield and sack Tua Tagovailoa.”
