MIAMI GARDENS -- Matthew Slater has seen a lot in his 16 years in the NFL. But he’s never been on a team that’s started a season 2-6. From the sounds of it, he’s willing to acknowledge it might not be easy to keep everyone up, focused, energized.
“It’s going to be challenging,” Slater said after his team’s 31-17 loss to the Dolphins. “For someone like myself and a lot of guys on this team, we’re in uncharted waters.
“I think this is an opportunity for us to display what kind of character we have, what kind of resolve we have, what kind of commitment to the game of football we have. If you’re going to play this game, you’ve got to be committed to it regardless of what your record is. We’re going to find out a lot of things about who we are.”
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Who the Patriots were on Sunday was a team operating from a clear talent deficit offensively. They also happened to be a team prone to making mistakes at critical times.
Not exactly a winning formula.
The Patriots racked up seven penalties for 45 yards, including a pass-interference call on J.C. Jackson that extended a Miami touchdown drive. They blew two coverages that led to touchdowns. They went 2-for-11 on third and fourth down. They turned it over late in the first half in Dolphins territory, sparking what was at least a six-point swing.
“Just gotta execute, man,” Jabrill Peppers said, with frustrated deep breaths punctuating every few words. “Busted coverages. Missed tackles. Penalties. It's hard to win like that, especially when you’re facing an offense like that.
"We shot ourselves in the foot. Still had a chance to get off the field late in the game with a one-score lead. We didn't. That's all it comes down to. Wasn't good enough today.”
The moment Peppers was referencing was when the Dolphins got the ball following a Patriots fourth-quarter touchdown with 8:30 left. It was a one-score game, and the Dolphins bled the clock with their four-minute offense, remained on the field, and finished the drive with a fast-motion, play-action throw that had the New England defense in a blender.
Jack Jones and Jonathan Jones both followed Tyreek Hill in coverage, Kyle Dugger seemed to bite on the run fake, and Jaylen Waddle was left wide open.
Game over.
Despite the frustration that hung in the visitor’s locker room at Hard Rock Stadium, their record didn’t have Patriots players saying they feared a loss of buy-in.
“Not the teammates that we have,” Demario Douglas said. “I feel like we have a bunch of dogs. We're going to come out next week and do what we have to do. We just have to clean stuff up.
"The teammates we have, they're hungry. They love this game. I believe, I pray, that they come out with that dog. Because I'm going to come out with it. Because I don't like losing.”
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“We got a job to do, man,” Peppers said. “We're professionals. We know what we got to do. It's just about coming out here and doing it. I know me personally, I don't care about the record. I'm going to go out there each and every play and give it 110 percent. Whether I'm banged up or I'm healthy. I can say that about the guys in here, too.”
For this year’s Patriots, playing from the bottom of the standings is nothing new. They’ve gone from 0-2, to 1-5, to where they are now at the bottom of the AFC standings. While the schedule softens soon -- with games against the Commanders and Colts upcoming -- this is a time when it could be tough to keep everyone pulling in the right direction.
“I think we’ve shown some commitment,” Slater said, “especially with a tough set of circumstances with the way the season started for us. Now we’ll really find out (who is committed). You can’t hide at 2-6. We’ll see.”