The New England Patriots NFL record 21 game regular-season win streak is history. The Pats 21 game regular-season win streak in Foxboro is history. Ronnie Brown rushed for four touchdowns and threw for another as the Miami Dolphins won for just the second time in 22 games shocking the Pats 38-13 on their home field.
The Dolphins added a new wrinkle to their game plan for New England. A formation reminiscent of Houston Nutt’s Wild Hog formation at Arkansas that saw Darren McFadden taking direct snaps from center. Brown carried the ball 17 times for 113 yards scoring on runs of 2, 15, 5, and 62 yards, all on direct snaps from center. Brown also threw a 19 yard to Anthony Fasano out of the same formation.
The Dolphins were dominant in the beat down. While the defense was holding the Pats to just 216 total yards, the Fish were rolling to 461 themselves. Ricky Williams chipped in with 98 yards on just 16 carries while Chad Pennington was near flawless in completing 16 of his 20 passes for a workman like 226 yards. Miami outrushed the hosts 216-79.
The Pat offense never got on track against a fired up Miami defense. Joey Porter finally backed up his smack with two sacks while Randy Starks’ interception set up the first Dolphin score. Matt Cassel was 19 for 31 for just 131 throwing the pick and his first touchdown in 11 quarters since taking over for Tom Brady.
In an interesting side note to the game, Ronnie Brown’s record performance came on the same day as the final game played at Yankee Stadium. The last time an NFL player ran for four TDs and threw for another came 85 years ago, the same day of the final game of the first season of Yankee Stadium when the Chicago Cardinal’s Mohardt Driscoll turned the trick against the Rochester Jeffersons. Babe Ruth homered for the Yankees.
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