Miami Dolphins rally falls short in 31-24 loss to the Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- So the Dolphins made it interesting.

After trailing 24-3 at halftime in what was the most embarrassing half of this young season, Adam Gase's team rallied in the second half.

They got to within 31-24 with over six minutes to play. And that's how it ended.

The rally was ruined by the same defense that gave up three first half touchdowns to Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo, and then gave up a 65-yard TD march against a New England offense headed by rookie third-stringer Jacoby Brissett, who replaced the injured Garoppolo just before halftime.

And even as the offense scored touchdowns on runs by Kenyan Drake and passes to Jordan Cameron and Kenny Stills, the defense still could not handle the prosperity.

The Patriots went on a prolonged drive to all but nail down the game in the final five minutes. The Miami defense couldn't stop Brissett. It couldn't stop sweeps by LaGarrette Blount.

It simply could not step up in the game's most pressing moments.

It was basically something we've seen two games in a row now. Last week the Miami defense also failed to finish as Seattle marched for the winning score in the final minutes.

So finishing is an issue right now for this unit.

This is also an issue: The defensive backfield had trouble against less than stellar quarterbacks.

The fact of the matter is the Patriots drove 70 yards their final possession against the Miami defense, setting up kicker Stephen Gostkowski for 39-field goal that would have sealed the victory.

Gostkowski missed.

The offense, having no time outs, got within a 19-yard pass attempt by Ryan Tannehill into the end zone for a tying score. The pass was intercepted.

Dolphins lose.