The New England Patriots’ offense and defense never quite seemed to marry Sunday in their shocking loss to the Miami Dolphins.

When the Patriots’ offense was hot early in the game, the defense seemed just as eager to let the Dolphins move down the field to score. And when the Patriots’ defense started piling up sacks and stops, their offense stalled and left points on the field.

At the end of the game, the Patriots’ offense seemed content to kick a field goal and make it just a five-point game, and their defense showed no interest in tackling Dolphins weapons as they weaved through the unit for a 69-yard “desperado” touchdown. That might have been a broken marriage.

Here’s this week’s statistical breakdown with numbers from Pro Football Focus.

PASS RUSH

DE Trey Flowers: sack, QB hit, three hurries

LB Dont’a Hightower: sack, QB hit, hurry

LB Kyle Van Noy: sack, hurry

DT Adam Butler: sack, hurry

DE John Simon: sack

CB Jonathan Jones: sack

DT Lawrence Guy: QB hit

DE Adrian Clayborn: hurry

FS Devin McCourty: hurry

— The Patriots came into the game averaging just 1.6 sacks per game, so it’s significant they were able to register a season-high six against the Dolphins. Their previous season high was three sacks.

— The Patriots, however, didn’t record any takeaways. Maybe sacks really are overrated. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick believes pressure, rather than sacks, generates more big plays because of turnovers, namely interceptions.

— Hightower is really improving as a pass rusher as the season progresses. He generated pressure on 27.3 percent of his pass-rush snaps.

— Butler also is on a defensive tear. He has sacks in his last two games.

— Deatrich Wise Jr. rushed the passer 10 times and didn’t generate any pressures.

PASS COVERAGE

CB Jason McCourty: four catches on four targets, 81 yards, TD

CB Jonathan Jones: 1-1, 69 yards, TD

CB Stephon Gilmore: 2-4, 38 yards, TD

FS Devin McCourty: 2-3, 25 yards

LB Elandon Roberts: 1-1, 24 yards

CB JC Jackson: 1-2, 15 yards

LB Kyle Van Noy: 1-1, 10 yards

SS Patrick Chung: 2-2, 3 yards

— Jason McCourty had a tough time on Kenny Stills. McCourty eventually was replaced by Jackson in two-cornerback alignments.

Jackson had another strong performance in just the second start of his career. He played 38 snaps to McCourty’s 31.

— Jackson failed to make a tackle in the Dolphins’ last-minute game-winning play. PFF ultimately blamed Jones for that 69-yard touchdown.

— The Patriots are now 0-4 when Gilmore lets up a touchdown. They’re 9-0 when he doesn’t.

RUN DEFENSE

LB Kyle Van Noy: four stops

DT Lawrence Guy: two stops

DE Trey Flowers: two stops

DT Adam Butler: two stops

SS Patrick Chung: two stops

DT Malcom Brown: stop

LB Dont’a Hightower: stop

FS Devin McCourty: stop

DE John Simon: stop

DE Adrian Clayborn: stop

CB Jonathan Jones: stop

FS Duron Harmon: missed tackle

LB Elandon Roberts: missed tackle

— Brown and Roberts were PFF’s lowest-graded players against the run. It appeared Brown was pushed around up front, while Roberts struggled to get off blocks at the second level at times. The Patriots let up 9 yards per carry. The Dolphins had their most success running up the right guard. There, they had five carries for 75 yards with a touchdown.

— Van Noy was a defensive standout. He also had a sack and hurry.

PASS PROTECTION

LT Trent Brown: two hurries

LG Joe Thuney: two hurries

RT Marcus Cannon: two hurries

QB Tom Brady: sack

RG Shaq Mason: QB hit

RB Rex Burkhead: hurry

— Center David Andrews, tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back James White, fullback James Develin and running back Sony Michel pass protected but didn’t allow any pressure.

— Brady got the ball out in 2.22 seconds. His season average is 2.48 seconds.

PASS ACCURACY

— Of Brady’s 16 incompletions, four were thrown away, two were dropped, one came when he was hit while he threw and one was batted at the line.

— Wide receiver Julian Edelman had both drops.

— Brady was 1-of-3 on passes over 20 yards for 37 yards with a touchdown.

RUSHING ATTACK

FB James Develin: 3 yards after contact

RB Sony Michel: 2.3 yards after contact, one forced missed tackle

RB Rex Burkhead: 1 yard after contact

RB James White: .75 yards after contact

— It was a tough day overall for the Patriots’ run game. They averaged just 2.6 yards per carry with 30 carries for 77 yards. They weren’t forcing missed tackles or running through them.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, go to ProFootballFocus.com.

Thumbnail photo via Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports Images