Dolphins shock Patriots

This is the sweetest victory I've savored in a long time. The Dolphins ended the Patriots' streak of 21 straight regular season wins by delivering a thumping, 38-13. Ironically, the Patriots' last loss was to the Dolphins in December, 2006. Things got so bad for the host Patriots that its own fans booed the team.

The Dolphins offense was efficient and effective. The star of the game was Ronnie Brown, who rushed 17 times for 113 yards and 4 touchdowns, a team record. For good measure, Brown also threw for another touchdown. Most of the scores resulted from a direct snap to Brown. Not to be ignored, Ricky Williams added another 98 yards on 16 carries. Chad Pennington also had his best day as a Dolphin, completing 17 of 20 passes for 226 yards.

The defense held the Patriots to 216 yards (compared to 461 for the Dolphins) and forced 2 turnovers. Overall, this was the most complete game the Dolphins have played in a long time. The question now is whether this performance was an aberration or indicative of things to come.