A day that most thought would never happen has come: Matt Cassel is a solid NFL quarterback on a playoff contender. I can hardly believe it myself but such is the storyline after Cassel and the Patriots (7-4) won 48-28 yesterday at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.
Cassel was 30 for 43 with 415 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His second straight 400+ passing yards performance was the fifth time in NFL history that has happened.
His two main targets were Randy Moss (8 catches, 125 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Wes Welker (8 catches, 120 yards).
The Patriots needed all of the offensive fireworks as once again, the defense was awful.
Miami (6-5) quarterback Chad Pennington threw for a career-high 341 yards and three touchdowns.
Stephen Gostowski began the shootout with a 30-yard field goal on the Pats' opening drive.
The Dolphins responded with a touchdown on their first possession. Pennington found wide receiver Greg Camarillo (6 catches, 75) with a three-yard TD pass.
In the second quarter, both quarterbacks ran for touchdowns on broken plays. Cassel's eight-yard run put New England up 10-7 while Pennington scrambled seven yards for a 14-10 Miami lead.
With a little more than two minutes left until halftime, Moss scored his first touchdown of the day on a 25-yard catch and run into the end zone.
On its first drive of the second half, the Dolphins once again moved the ball at will on the Pats terrible defense. Fullback Casey Cramer ended it with a 2-yard catch from Pennington, putting the Dolphins up 21-17.
Cassel hit Moss with a beautiful 8-yard fade in the corner of the end zone to give the Patriots a 24-21 lead.
Set up by Welker's 64-yard catch and long run, Kevin Faulk (53 yards rushing, 52 yards receiving) ran up the gut for a 21-yard score on the last play of the third quarter.
From there, the Patriots' composure and big game experience finally showed in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins (led by head idiot Joey Porter) accumulated penalties and gave up huge plays.
Ricky Williams had Miami's last score with a 13-yard fade from Pennington, making it 31-28 New England.
The Patriots scored 17 unanswered points to finish it off.
Moss' final touchdown was a 29-yard catch. For some reason, the Dolphins chose to single-cover Moss all day which obviously yielded great results for Moss and the Patriots.
Gostowski kicked another 30-yard field goal and BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored a garbage time 1-yard TD with 37 seconds left. As Gostowski put the last extra point through, Patriots left tackle Matt Light and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder started punching each other and both were subsequently ejected. Light seemed to get the better of the fight as he pulled Crowder's dread locks and pummelled him. Good stuff.
Jabar Gaffney and Ten Ginn Jr. each finished with five catches for 88 yards while Davone Bess had five catches for 87 yards.
The Jets knocked off the unbeaten Titans yesterday and hung onto their one-game lead in the AFC East over New England. Buffalo and Miami are tied for third with matching 6-5 records.
New England is still on the outside of the playoff picture but at 7-4 with a favorable schedule down the stretch, the Pats are in a good position.
Their toughest remaining regular season game is next Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers come to Gillette Stadium. Pittsburgh can be great or Big Ben and his team can be awful. Who knows which version of the Steelers will show up?
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