The Dolphins have taken an early 3-0 lead over the Patriots in Gillette Stadium thanks to a 47-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game.
Taking a touchback on the opening kickoff, the Dolphins' offense got underway from the 20 yard line, and quickly picked up a first down on a strong run from Reggie Bush. After the next series of downs started with a Shaun Ellis sack and a run to set up a 3rd-and-9, it seemed like the defense may find its feet early, but as has been the case all-too-often of late, the secondary let the rest of the unit down. Matt Moore's lob downfield wasn't terribly pretty, but with Devin McCourty having fallen well behind his man, the ball dropped cleanly into Brian Hartline's arms for a huge gain that set the Dolphins up just outside of the red zone.
Luckily, while the defense continued to give up big yards, they kept up their record of minimizing the damage, holding the Dolphins to just a field goal after a failed run, an incomplete pass out of the end zone, and a quick toss that was short even before Bill Belichick successfully challenged the catch.