Tom Brady was uncharacteristically off his game Monday night against the Dolphins, but squash the conspiracy theories.
No, it wasn’t because he’s older and ailing and South Florida is where the older and ailing like to retire. And no, it wasn’t because of a figurative cliff he’ll allegedly meet at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Brady and the offense were lethargic for football reasons, and the Dolphins deserve a huge chunk of credit for that during their 27-20 stunner at Hard Rock Stadium. Cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Alterraun Verner blanketed perimeter wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan. Cooks rarely went anywhere without a safety in pursuit as well. Brady was 2-of-12 for 39 yards when targeting the pair, and 38 of those yards came on a final-possession pass to Cooks.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski’s absence allowed the safeties to spy the deep ball, and Brady couldn’t find better, more consistent matchups over the middle with slot receiver Danny Amendola, who wasn’t utilized until later in the second half, or running backs James White and Rex Burkhead. Tight end Dwayne Allen could only chip in two catches for 10 yards, and a couple of Brady’s worst throws were in his direction, which again showcased their inconsistent chemistry.
The offensive line again let Brady down in more ways than one. Brady was sacked twice, hit four more times and pressured six additional times. Left tackle Nate Solder and left guard Joe Thuney both were called for holding. Thuney has particularly struggled of late, allowing three sacks in the past two games after being clean through his first 11. Brady threw away four passes because of pressure and had two incompletions because he was hit as he threw.
It took a total, widespread meltdown to go 0-for-11 on third down. Brady was 3-of-10 for 13 yards on third down, throwing a pair of interceptions and getting sacked once. That’s a passer rating of 0.
Gronkowski was missed in that area. He entered the game with a team-high 18 catches for 305 yards, three touchdowns and 16 conversions on third down, and Brady has completed 81.8 percent of his third-down bids for the tight end. And before Monday, Brady was 69-of-110 (62.7 percent) for 901 yards, seven touchdowns and two picks on third down for a 102.1 rating.
Brady had accuracy issues throughout the game for a variety of reasons. His first interception to Cooks on a corner route was a tough throw in the soft spot of the zone, but Brady might have missed his spot by 10 yards. He also short-armed a ball to White, didn’t step into a throw to Cooks that was broken up by Howard and missed both behind and well above Allen on relatively easy tosses to the flat. The sailed throw was particularly odd because it came a play after the 38-yard dime to Cooks, which further illustrated Allen’s inability to remain in sync with Brady.
Some of it was again pressure-related, even indirectly. He threw off his back foot during a fourth-quarter misfire to Cooks, and though there wasn’t any pressure on that play, there had been a snap before. Brady had another back-footed miss to Hogan, which allowed Verner to break it up, thanks to a quick pressure off right tackle Cameron Fleming.
And whether it was a cumulative effect of the constant pounding or just a generally bad night, Brady missed two pivotal chances in fourth-quarter three-and-outs. He was low to Amendola on a sure second-and-8 conversion, and the drive died a play later when Ndamukong Suh beat Thuney for a sack. Following Thuney’s hold, Brady was well short of Cooks for a potential 25-yard connection on first-and-20.
Strangely, the Patriots couldn’t dictate — or at least take advantage of — matchups over the middle, especially against linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Brady and Julian Edelman wreaked havoc on Timmons twice last season when he was a Steeler. While Edelman is a peerless performer, it was surprising the Pats didn’t try to burn Timmons a bit more with Amendola, White or Burkhead.
Dion Lewis, Burkhead, and White combined to catch 13 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, but they had six catches for 40 yards on checkdowns. There’s nothing wrong with checkdowns, but the brilliance of the Patriots offense has been in its ability to create mismatches with Brady’s first or second read. That probably didn’t happen with the backs as much as they wanted.
And then there were the deep heaves. Brady launched five balls down the field on fly patterns or post routes for Cooks and Hogan, and he was 0-of-3 with a pick. The interception was another underthrown ball, as Cooks beat the coverage down the field.
These things happen, albeit far more infrequently with Brady than anyone else. It was the 19th time in his career when he had a sub-60 passer rating, and nine of those have occurred in Week 11 or later, so he has sporadically mixed in a late-season stinker during his career.
Let’s just not pretend it’s time for the glue factory.
