MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Many people enjoyed life in South Florida on Sunday. The sun was out with little humidity and a nice warm breeze. It was a great day to be outside.

Unless you were the Patriots.

This Week 12 matchup resulted in Jerod Mayo’s team putting together their worst effort of the season. The Patriots looked overmatched and undercoached in this afternoon affair, which was quickly out of hand in the first quarter.

On offense, the Patriots had too many penalties, and the offensive tackles played some of their worst football of the season. On defense, the Patriots had little answers for Jonnu Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

If you thought it was embarrassing that the Patriots lost to a Dolphins team quarterbacked by Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley, Sunday’s game somehow rivaled that.

The result in this one was never in doubt as the Patriots suffered one of their most embarrassing defeats in recent memory, losing 34-15 to the Dolphins on Sunday. Mayo’s team drops to 3-9.

Here’s what went wrong:

Penalties killed Patriots offense in first half

The first half was rife with penalties for the Patriots. It was ugly.

The offense hurt themselves on their first series. The unit was faced with a third-and-3, but that quickly turned into a third-and-8 due to a Vederian Lowe false start. Drake Maye hit Ja’Lynn Polk but the receiver gained only 7 yards, and the Patriots punted.

The Patriots continued to hurt themselves and in the second series, it cost them points.

This drive was frustrating. On one hand, the offense was moving the ball and Maye was playing well. On the other hand, the offensive line accounted for three penalties for a loss of 20 yards. Patriots tackles, Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs, were called for two false starts in the first five plays of this series. Still, the Patriots got out of that hole with an Antonio Gibson 14-yard run and then a Gibson 14-yard reception.

Maye took the offense down to the 20-yard line, but Jacobs was called for a holding penalty. On third-and-16, Alex Van Pelt called for a run play that led to 3 yards for Rhamondre Stevenson. That led to a missed 45-yard field goal by Joey Slye at 3:12 of the first quarter.

That’s all it took for Miami to gain momentum. The Dolphins scored a touchdown on their next series and didn’t look back.

Somehow, it got worse for the Patriots. They went three-and-out in their third series, which saw the offense lose 15 yards. Stevenson was dropped for a loss of 6 yards on the first play. After an incomplete pass, Maye was sacked by Chop Robinson for a loss of 9 yards. Robinson beat Jacobs on the play and got to the Patriots rookie quarterback untouched.

It continued to look bad for Patriots tackle. The fourth offensive series started with Stevenson’s 19-yard catch negated by a Lowe holding call. That marked the left tackle’s third penalty of the first half. The offense never got out of that hole, punting four plays later.

It didn’t look much better in the fifth series. This saw Maye get strip-sacked with the Dolphins recover. However, the play was overturned and ruled an incomplete pass. Lowe was flagged for his fourth penalty, another false start, and then Maye was sacked on third down.

Patriots defense had no answers

The Dolphins gained a first down on their first play, but the Patriots clamped down after that. This first Miami series ended when safety Marte Mapu deflected Tua Tagovailoa’s third-down pass attempt, focusing a punt.

That was not a sign of things to come.

After a missed Patriots field goal, the Dolphins took control. The Patriots continued to hurt themselves. First, Tagovailoa gained three first downs with his first three passes of this drive. That took Miami to the 19-yard line. Then, on third-and-3, Anfernee Jennings was flagged for a neutral zone infraction. That gave the Dolphins a first-and-goal at the 7-yard line.

That led to a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith and the Dolphins led, 7-0, at 14:10 of the first quarter.

It didn’t get better for the defense. The next Dolphins series saw Miami put together an 8-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in 3:57. Tagovailoa hit Smith (13 yards) and Jaylen Waddle (17 yards and 14 yards) to set up a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. At 7:50 of the second quarter, Tagovailoa hit De’Von Achane for a 9-yard touchdown run.

It somehow looked worse for the defense in the next series. This was a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for Miami. Tagovailoa beat the Patriots secondary for multiple big plays before hitting Achane for an 11-yard touchdown at 1:50 of the second quarter. The Dolphins led, 21-0, at this point.

Tagovailoa hit Waddle (29 yards) and Tyreek (20 yards) to get the Dolphins to the 3-yard line on the next series. The defense didn’t allow a touchdown this time. Jason Sanders hit the 21-yard field goal to give Miami a 24-0 halftime lead.

Patriots couldn’t recover

The Patriots defense adjusted at halftime. The Patriots offense didn’t exactly get the memo.

Christian Barmore notched his first sack of the 2024 season when he brought down Tagovailoa on third down at the start of the third quarter. The Patriots defense started the second half with a three-and-out.

The offense didn’t follow the defense’s lead. Although the group started the third quarter with a better drive, which saw three first downs, the Patriots remained scoreless due to more penalties. This series saw Michael Onwenu get flagged for holding and then Kayshon Boutte for offensive pass interference. The Patriots never dug out of that last one and punted at midfield after a failed double-pass attempt on third down.

The defense forced another punt, but the offense played worse. At 2:29 of the third quarter, on third down, Maye was strip-sacked by Zach Sieler. Jordyn Brooks recovered for Miami. Two plays later, Tagovailoa hit Waddle for a 23-yard touchdown.

At 1:37 of the third quarter, the Dolphins led, 31-0.

With 13:43 left in the game, the Patriots finally scored. Maye hit Austin Hooper for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-15. The offense was backed up after Maye was sacked for a loss of 12 but the quarterback persevered.

The defense held the Dolphins to another three-and-out on the next series. On offense, the Patriots ended up turning the ball over on downs.

Miami backup quarterback Skylar Thompson then came into the game. At 10:10 of the fourth quarter, Christian Gonzalez scooped up a Jaylen Wright fumble and ran back 63 yards for the touchdown. Maye connected with Stevenson for the 2-point conversions, and the Dolphins led 31-15.

That led the Dolphins to putting Tagovailoa back in the game. Brenden Schooler notched his second sack of the season. That led to another Miami punt.

However, the offense couldn’t get it together. With 5:19 left, Maye was intercepted by Tyrel Dodson at midfield. The Dolphins turned that into a 51-yard field goal by Sanders and led 33-15 with 3:33 remaining.

The Patriots offense failed to gain 3 yards on two plays in a row to turn the ball over on downs. The Dolphins then kneeled to end this game.