Patriots-Dolphins Stock Watch: Stevenson, Gibson among few bright spots originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots suffered their fourth consecutive loss Sunday in their Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
The Dolphins, who were playing without injured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, escaped Foxboro with a 15-10 victory. The Patriots offense failed to score more than one touchdown for the fourth time in five games, and this unit’s 12.4 points per game average ranks 31st out of 32 teams.
The defense played well enough to win, but similar to last season, the offense just didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Who stood out as silver linings in Sunday’s defeat, and who deserves blame in defeat? Our Patriots Insiders Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry covered both fronts during the “Stock Watch” segment on the Patriots Talk Podcast, in which they highlight players who thrived (Stock Up) and players who fell short of expectations (Stock Down).
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Here are Curran and Perry’s “Stock Up” and “Stock Down” selections for Week 5:
Stock Up
Christian Gonzalez, Cornerback
Gonzalez was matched up against Dolphins star wideout Tyreek Hill for most of Sunday and did a very good job. He also tallied his first interception of the season, setting up a short field for the Patriots that they capitalized on for their only touchdown of the game in the first quarter.
Perry: “He had a key interception, helped set them up for that score. I thought he did a really nice job. There was a throw in the end zone intended for Tyreek Hill that he almost picked. There was another throw to the end zone that Hill caught out of bounds because I think, in part, Gonzalez did a good job getting an angle on him.”
Antonio Gibson, Running back
Gibson started at running back and picked up 56 rushing yards on six carries (8.7 per attempt), along with one catch for four yards. He didn’t get enough touches late in the game.
Curran: “He’s terrific. He just starts so well every game. He’s just ready to go, seems like a real pro. I haven’t spent a ton of time talking to him, but he seems like a very professional individual. I think they need plenty of that at this juncture, especially on offense.”
Brenden Schooler, Special teams
Schooler blocked a punt in the second quarter, giving the Patriots possession at the Dolphins’ 23-yard line. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the ensuing drive ended with a 33-yard field goal miss by kicker Joey Slye.
Perry: “Not many punt blocks that we get to cover on an annual basis, and that was potentially a big play. They didn’t do a whole heck of a lot with it, but a nice job by him to get in there and block that one.”
Rhamondre Stevenson, Running back
Stevenson was benched to begin the game, but that didn’t last long. He was still a focal point of the offense, and he tallied 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Stevenson caught four passes for three yards, too. Most importantly, Stevenson did not fumble for the first time all season.
Curran: “Much maligned and deservedly so for the amount of fumbles. He ends up running for a 33-yard touchdown at the beginning of the game.”
Stock Down
Ja’Lynn Polk, Wide receiver
Polk made one catch for 13 yards on six targets. He nearly won the Patriots the game late in the fourth quarter but wasn’t able to come down inbounds in the back of the end zone. The officials made the correct call even though the rookie wideout did tap both feet inbounds.
Curran: “A couple of drops. No fault of his to not be (inbounds) at the end of the game, but some of his commentary from the locker room saying everyone thought it was a touchdown and no one gave me an explanation for why it wasn’t — are you kidding me? You don’t have any curiosity to say why wasn’t it a touchdown? You’re just gonna sit there and think you scored and they just got it wrong? They didn’t get it wrong. Figure out what the rule is. … He had one catch on six targets.”
Joey Slye, Kicker
Slye has played well for the Patriots this season, but a field goal miss from 33 yards out in the second quarter after a blocked kick was a tough setback for an offense that needed all the points it could get.
Perry: “I hate to do it, but that was a makeable kick, and I didn’t see a bad snap or hold there.
Nick Leverett, Center
Leverett replaced the injured David Andrews as the starting center and had a rough game. He allowed 10 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, that’s “tied for the most by a center in a single game in the PFF era (since 2006).”
Curran: “He got turnstiled a number of times.
Keion White, Defensive end
White has the ability to be a formidable pass rusher, but he didn’t make that kind of impact Sunday. He tallied just two tackles, one QB hit and zero sacks. He also committed two bad personal foul penalties.
Perry: “You can’t have personal foul penalties and not include them in the stock down category, especially when it’s multiple. And the second one is such a killer on third down.”
