With seven seconds left and up 33-28 , the New England Patriots looked like the certain winners of their week 14 game against the Miami Dolphins.

However, the final play turned the team’s fortunes around rather quickly: one forward pass and two laterals helped Miami go the entire 69 yards that they were away from the end zone to come away as the victors. It Steve Grogan Color Rush Jersey was a crazy ending to the game.And while that infamous final play decided the game, it was not the reason the Patriots lost: New England had multiple mental and performance errors in the first 59 minutes and 53 seconds of the game that equally contributed to the game’s outcome. The Patriots left points on the board, had negative plays, and just allowed Miami to stick around until a final play unlike any other the Patriots have ever had.Take the kicking by Stephen Gostkowski. After the Patriots’ first touchdown of the day, he missed the extra point attempt. This in turn, put New England at a disadvantage and might have influenced the play calling for the entire game — especially near its end (more on that later). To add proverbial insult to injury, Gostkowski also missed a field goal in the third quarter that would have put the Patriots up nine points.Take the defense and its inability to stop the run. Miami was able to move the ball at will on the ground on a defense that failed to generate a serious push up the field and slow down 35-year old Frank Gore. The Dolphins entered the game with the 23rd most rushing attempts in the NFL for the 24th most yards (2,432) and the 32nd most touchdowns (4) — and they ran wild over a Patriots unit coming off its best game of the year.Take the Patriots’ breakdown at the end of the first half. After its second punt block, New England set up shop at the Miami 15-yard line with 30 seconds and one timeout left. The team ran four plays and used its timeout before quarterback Tom Brady allowed himself to get sacked on what was the final play of the half. Your normally don’t see errors like that from as experienced and successful a player as Brady.Take the Patriots’ decision making on their final offensive series. Up 30-28, New England drove all the way down to the Miami 4-yard line inside the two-minute warning. However, the unit failed to reach the end zone and up two points decided to add to the scoreboard instead of being aggressive and going for it on fourth down to put Miami in worse field position — a decision that might have been the better one (this is, of course, easy to say in hindsight).Take the Patriots’ decision making before their final defensive play. With six seconds left and Miami 69 yards away from the end zone Trey Flowers Jersey , a deep Hail Mary pass was unlikely. However, it appeared as if New England was planning for it anyway by sending the appropriate package on the field — one that included tight end Rob Gronkowski as a deep safety instead of Devin McCourty. It is not unreasonable to think that McCourty might have been able to track down Kenyan Drake before he reached the end zone, something a stumbling Gronkowski failed to do.Ultimately, the final play was a microcosmos of the Patriots’ game — and season: New England’s mistakes and inconsistency caught up to the team at the worst possible time. One of the defining traits of championship teams is how they bounce back from adversity. The next few days might therefore define the 2018 New England Patriots. The New England Patriots earned a hard-fought victory over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night to improve their record to 6-2. During their 25-6 win, the team used every layer of its depth chart as all 46 players on the active game day roster saw at least two snaps on the field. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the snap count numbers from the game:Josh Gordon played 84% of offensive snaps despite reported disciplinePrior to the game, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that wide receiver Josh Gordon was expected to be kept off the field for “several series” as a disciplinary measure. However, the first-year Patriot started the game and finished the contest with 64 of a possible 76 offensive snaps (84%) – the second most among New England’s wide receivers, and his second highest playing time percentage since joining the team.The Patriots didn’t bother to replace Sony Michel with Kenjon BarnerWhen running back Sony Michel went down with a knee injury last Sunday, James White and Kenjon Barner saw an increased workload. Against Buffalo, however, the team did used a different approach: while White was on the field for a season-high 80% of snaps (61 of 76), Barner played a mere 9% (7) and was basically the third option behind White and wide receiver Corarrelle Patterson, who carried the football on 10 of his 13 snaps (17%).No cornerback rotation this time aroundLast week against the Chicago Bears Deatrich Wise Jr Color Rush Jersey , five cornerbacks played more than 34% of the Patriots’ defensive snaps. With Eric Rowe out due to an injury, New England used a more traditional approach versus Buffalo and its inconsistent passing offense: Stephon Gilmore (64 of 64; 100%) and Jason McCourty (63; 98%) served as the top-two at the position, with Jonathan Jones (25; 39%) as the rotational slot option. Rookie J.C. Jackson played 19 snaps (30%).Dont’a Hightower’s absence has only minimal impact on linebacker groupDespite on-field signal caller Dont’a Hightower being inactive due to a knee injury, the Patriots’ remaining linebackers were used like they have been all season long: Kyle Van Noy played 100% of the snaps (64 of 64) for the second time this year, while Elandon Roberts was on the field for 55% (35) – not an unusual workload for either of the two defenders. Hightower’s absence had more of an impact on the defensive edge as all six players at the position played more than 20% of snaps.Rob Gronkowski was active in his return to the fieldAfter missing last week’s game because of ankle and back issues, tight end Rob Gronkowski was back against his hometown team – and had an active day. Overall, the 29-year old was on the field for 89% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps (68 of 76) which is slightly below his season-long average. Gronkowski did not look fully fit at times, but overall had a solid day as a pass catcher and as a blocker.Eight players were on the field for 100% of the snapsA total of seven players did not leave the field once against the Bears. Four of the Patriots’ offensive linemen went wire-to-wire, while the fifth – starting right guard Shaq Mason – missed his first snaps of the season after suffering a calf injury 47 snaps into his night. On the defensive side of the ball, meanwhile, starting safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung as well as the aforementioned Stephon Gilmore and Kyle Van Noy were on the field for all 64 snaps.