The Patriots are still in bad shape, but have finally gotten onto the scoreboard in the third quarter with a 45-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski.
In desperate need of some points to start the second half, the Patriots came out firing. Danny Woodhead took the opening kickoff back 39 yards to set them up with good field position, and Tom Brady fired one of the first Brady-like passes of the game over the middle to Rob Gronkowski to move into Dolphins territory.
The Patriots would come up short on a 3rd-and-1, but a patented Tom Brady sneak proved enough to pick up a new set of downs. Unfortunately, with a couple throws from Brady coming up too short, they quickly found themselves facing another fourth down. This time, with five yards to cover, there would be no sneak, and Bill Belichick called on Stephen Gostkowski to try again from 45 yards. While he had missed by a mile from a similar distance to close out the first half, in the second he managed to squeeze the ball just inside of the right upright, giving the Pats their first three points of the half.