The Miami Dolphins might have seen a familiar tale awaiting them as they trotted to the locker at halftime, trailing the New England Patriots 20-10. The Patriots have had the better of the Dolphins — like the rest of the AFC East — for the last decade plus.
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The Dolphins had different ideas though and stormed out to outscore New England 23-0 in the second half. A major impetus in that comeback? Running back Knowshon Moreno’s hard play that fueled a domination of New England on both sides of the ball.
“We feed off each other as a team, defensively, offensively,” Moreno said per the Miami Herald. “At the end of the day, that’s all there is.”
Moreno rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries, including the game-sealing touchdown that put the Dolphins up 30-20 with three minutes left in the game. His hard, physical style has often been a tonic against the Patriots as Moreno has 417 rushing yards in his last three games against New England (including his time as a Denver Bronco).
Assisting Moreno and the offense was pass rushing nightmare Cameron Wake, whose strip fumble of Brady after Moreno’s touchdown quelled any chance of a New England comeback.
At 1-0, the Dolphins are hoping to cast aside the demons of playoff past and move forward in a wide-open AFC East. For one week anyway, they appear to have found a solid formula for success.