Patriots’ Game 1 at Miami (9/12/11):

The Pats opened up the regular season down in the heat and humidity of South Florida with a date against the Dolphins. Last year, the Pats closed out the regular season by dispatching Miami 38-7, but this year will prove to be a much tougher contest as the Dolphins’ defense has improved and Chad Henne had a very good training camp under the controls.

The Dolphins won the toss and elected to receive. Henne brought out the offense at the 16, and his first pass was completed to Davone Bess on the left sideline at the 40. Reggie Bush then picked up another first down at midfield. Bush then carried off left tackle for another first down. After Henne threw two incompletions, he hit Bush out of the backfield short of the first down. On fourth-and-1, Bush carried up the middle for a first down inside the 20. A holding call against Miami pushed the ball back to the 29. Brandon Marshall caught a pass over the middle for a short gain. Anthony Fasano then made a great leaping one-handed catch inside the 5. On first and goal, Henne was sacked by Wright and Carter back at the 10. Bush was then hammered down by Haynesworth for no gain. Henne then went up the gut on the quarterback draw and into the end zone. Where was the defense? Nobody touched him! The Patriots’ “new look” defense didn’t look so hot on that series. The Pats started out at the 21 but an off-sides call against Miami gave them a free 5. Green-Ellis carried off right tackle for 4. Matthew Slater then made a spectacular diving catch over the middle at the Dolphins’ 25. On third-and-4, Brady hit Gronkowski down to the 3 with a pass through heavy traffic. From there, Green-Ellis banged in off right tackle and, with second effort, into the end zone to tie the score 7-7. Gostkowski’s ensuing kickoff went out of the end zone. The Dolphins went three n’ out on their next drive and after they punted out, the Pats started out at the 35. Gronkowski caught a pass over the middle but a procedure call set the ball back to the 30. Brady hit Deion Branch in the left slot for 14 and then found Aaron Hernandez over the middle for a first down. On second down, Brady connected with Wes Welker down to the 12.

Moving into the second quarter, the Pats had the ball at Miami’s 12. Brady hit Gronkowski in the left flat for a short gain. On the next play, Brady found Gronkowski in the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown and the Pats went ahead, 14-7. Gates had a great kick return out to midfield, but a penalty on the return set the ball back to the 10. The Dolphins tried two rushes that gained 7. On third-and-3, Henne was flushed out of the pocket but found Brian Hartline at the 32. On third-and-2, Bush was hammered down by Dane Fletcher and Brandon Fields punted away. The pats moved the ball out near midfield on two rushes by Woodhead and a pass completion to Hernandez. On the next play, Brady went for the downs with Welker but his long pass was a touch too strong. Edelman then caught a pass for 9 and Woodhead carried for a first down. A false start penalty against Branch set the ball back to the 47. On third-and-15, Brady’s pass to Branch was completed, but well short of the first down, so Mesko punted out for the first time tonight. Starting at the 4, Henne’s long pass down the left sideline was nearly picked by Leigh Bodden as the Dolphins went three n’ out on that drive. Brad Edelman returned Fields’ punt to the 46, but an illegal block penalty set the ball back to the 35. The Pats went three n’ out on the ensuing drive. On first down, Henne found Bess over the middle at midfield and then to Hartline in the left slot. A holding call against Richie Incognito pushed the ball back to the 40. Bush picked up 12 on a catch out of the backfield, but it was far short of the first down. After Fields’ punt, the Pats started out at the 10 with just under two minutes left on the clock. Woodhead carried up the middle for 9 and then Brady rushed for a first down. Dan Koppen was injured on the play, a critical member of the offensive line whose absence the Patriots could ill-afford. Koppen had to be removed from the field by cart and Dan Connolly stepped in at center. Ocho made his first catch at the left sideline but (inside of two minutes) it was subject to booth review. The ruling on the field was upheld. Gronkowski then made a nice run after catching the ball over the middle down to the Dolphins’ 40. On the play, Jason Taylor suffered an ankle injury that required attention from the training staff. With less than a minute remaining Brady found Gronkowski over the middle at the 20. A holding call on Nate Solder pusged the ball back to the 30, where Brady was sacked by Cameron Wake at the 35. From there, Gostkoski’s field goal attempt badly went wide right.

Edelman had a very good return of the second half kickoff out to the 40. From there, Brady hit Welker on first down at the Dolphins’ 45. On second down, Brady’s pass was deflected, popped up in the air and intercepted by Jared Odrick, who rumbled down to the 10. On second-and-goal, Henne hit Hartline over the middle with the game-tying touchdown. Hartline easily beat Bodden on an inside slant and Chad Barrett was deked out and failed to provide coverage over the top. Woodhead carried on a draw up to the 46 and then Brady escaped a rush and hit Branch for a first down at the Dolphins’ 47, Woodhead picked up another 9 up the middle and then Brady hit Branch in the left flat down to the 26. On first down, Brady hit Branch again at the 4. On second-and-goal, Woodhead carried off right tackle to the 2. On the next play, Brady found Welker in the left corner and the Pats took a 21-14 lead. The Dolphins moved the ball out to the 40 where Henne found Fasano over the middle for a big gain at the Pats’ 35. Henne scrambled right and slid for a first down at the 25. Marshall then made a great diving catch on the left sideline down to the 2, beating McCourty with his superior height. On second-and-goal, McCourty nearly picked off Henne’s pass in the end zone. Marshall then dropped a pass at the goal line and the Dolphins wisely elected to bring in Dan Carpenter, who kicked in a chip shot to make it 21-17. From the 21, Brady hit Hernandez for a 5-yard pickup. Green-Ellis then rolled off left tackle for a first down. The Patriots then came out no-huddle, causing Miami to burn a timeout. Brady then found Welker over the middle for 6, On third and 4 from the 46, Brady hit Branch on a slant in down to the 30 and then to Branch again for 9 more. A holding call pushed the ball back to the 31. The no-huddle had the Dolphins’ D gassed. From there, Brady went deep to Hernandez, who made a leaping catch at the 5 and crawled into the end zone. The play was reviewed and it appeared as if Hernandez’ foot was touch prior to his having crossed the goal line. The ball was placed on the 1 where Brady found Hernandez over the middle for the score. With the point after, the Pats went up 28-17. The Dolphins started out their next drive at the 17. A false start penalty set the ball back to the 12. Henne hit Bess out to the 24 as time expired in the quarter.

The Dolphins went three n’ out on their first drive of the fourth quarter and then the Pats moved the ball out to midfield on a catch by Gronkowski. Hernandez then made a great leaping catch on the right sideline down to the 20. Hernandez then caught a pass, knocked over a would-be tackler and fell to the 5. Woodhead then carried to the 2. On third-and-goal, Brady’s pass was broken up in the end zone so the Pats called on Gostkowski and he banged in a chip shot to make it 31-17. The Patriots got the ball back at their 40 but went three n’ out. On first down, Henne found Fasano over the middle up to the 45. From there, Henne hit Marshall down to the 25. After three incompletions, the Dolphins went for it on fourth down, where Henne hit Hartline on a quick hitter down to the 10. On third-and-goal from the 8, Bess took a pass in the right slot and leaped from the 2 and hit the pylon. A review indicated that Bess was down inside the 1 setting up fourth and a half-yard. Henne elected to pass and his throw intended for Hartline went too far, as Ras-I Dowling was right on the spot. Are you kidding me? On first down, Brady hit Welker in the left slot and Welker raced 99 ½ yards for the touchdown. On the play, the Dolphins blitzed the house and left Welker in a one-on-one situation. Welker caught the ball at the 20, broke a tackle and was gone. With the completion, Brady set a franchise record with 511 passing yards on the night. Henne then took to the air in a desperate attempt to score. On 4th-and 7 from the Pats’ 30, Henne hit Bush in the right slot for a first down. Henne then rambled down to the 2. Bush then caught a pass and reached for the pylon and was ruled a touchdown after review. The Dolphins attempted an on-sides kick but it went out of bounds and the Pats took over. Green-Ellis carried for 9. After punting away, the Pats allowed Henne to move the ball at will all the way down to the 35. Henne was then sacked by Mark Anderson at the 38. Inside of a minute to play, Henne scrambled to the 23 and then hit Marshall at the 16. Marshall was injured on the play. 906 combined passing yards tonight, and that’s a new NFL record. Henne’s last-gasp pass was intercepted at the goal line and the Pats came away with a 38-24 victory.