Patriots lose in stunning fashion, 36-33, on last-second Kenyan Drake touchdown - Boston Herald

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — An absurd back-and-forth affair in Miami finally settled down late, and the Patriots were in position to gut out a five-point win, clinch their 10th straight AFC East title, and possibly seize control of the coveted No. 1 seed.

They needed to prevent a miracle play by Miami, nothing more.

With seven seconds remaining, and the Dolphins needing a touchdown from their own 31-yard line, Ryan Tannehill dropped back against a four-man rush and connected cleanly with Kenny Stills over the middle.

Stills pulled the ball in at his own 45 and pitched it to DeVante Parker.

Everything that happened next was truly unbelievable.

The sequence ended with Kenyan Drake sprinting past Rob Gronkowski, who was back to guard against the Hail Mary, and into the end zone for a walkoff touchdown.

The improbable final: Miami 34, New England 33.

Prior to the last-second madness, the Patriots left too many points on the board, allowing Miami to hang around.

The Patriots left points on the board, as Stephen Gostkowski blew an extra point after the first touchdown and later missed a 42-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. At the end of the first half, the Pats weren’t able to get Gostkowski on the field for a last-second field goal attempt. Tom Brady inexplicably took a sack in the closing seconds. The Patriots, without any timeouts, simply watched time expire.

Otherwise, it was a brilliant half for Brady, easily his best of the season. A sequence at the beginning of the second quarter stands out: Facing a third-and-10 at his own 47-yard line, Brady hit Julian Edelman on a rope for a 16-yard gain along the Miami sideline. On the next play, Brady dropped back, froze the defense with play action, and delivered another laser down the middle of the field, this one good for a 37-yard touchdown to Cordarrelle Patterson.

Brady’s excellence and a pair of blocked punts by Albert McClellan — the first of which led to a Julian Edelman 2-yard touchdown — masked a brutal defensive performance in the opening half. Frank Gore ripped off a 36-yard run on Miami’s first drive. Brandon Bolden, who had totaled three offensive snaps all season, was untouched as he breezed through the New England secondary for a 54-yard touchdown.

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