Welcome to Season 7, Episode 5 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious-yet-lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup.
Well, that was more like it.
The Patriots entered Sunday’s surprisingly important Week 4 showdown with the 3-0 Miami Dolphins with a 1-2 record, a two-game losing streak (both by double digits), a defense that looked slow, undermanned, and disorganized, and an apparent major deficiency in offensive firepower. Other than that, all was well.
Sixty minutes later, the Patriots had a 31-point victory, the Dolphins looked like the biggest poseur to come to Gillette the 2009 Titans (who were waxed 59-0 in the snow), rookie running back Sony Michel (112 yards) embarrassed a couple of local radio hosts who disparaged him, and Josh Gordon needed just two catches to tantalize.