"You never want to be embarrassed two weeks in a row at home," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. "But that's what happened and we've got to figure this out."

Indeed, they have a lot to figure out.

Granted, the offensive numbers improved some when the game had turned into a runaway late in the fourth quarter – the Dolphins finishing with 184 yards and 11 first downs – but that can't wipe away the alarming number of mistakes accumulated by this offense. The dropped passes. The poor blocking. The inconsistent quarterback play. It was all so disappointing.

Want one play that best depicted the plight of this struggling offense? With 8:57 remaining and the Dolphins trailing 30-0, Fitzpatrick throws a little swing pass to running back Kalen Ballage, who turns his head for an instant before the ball is secured. As a result, he juggles the ball and it is grabbled in mid-air by linebacker Jamie Collins, who takes the interception 69 yards for a score.

Want a fitting ending? On the last play of the game, Collins intercepted his second pass – the Patriots' third interception of the fourth quarter – and simply ran into the tunnel toward the locker room. He didn't even need to turn around. He had seen everything he needed to from a Patriots defense that might just be one of the top two or three in the league.