Patriots throttle Dolphins, capture second seed in AFC

Field Level Media|published: Sun 4th January, 19:46 2026

NFL: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots

Jan 4, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots tight end Thomas Odukoya (88) runs after the catch against Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks (20) and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (9) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 131 yards and had three total touchdowns to lead the New England Patriots to a 38-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Foxborough, Mass.

The Patriots (14-3) settled for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs after Denver secured the top seed -- and a first-round bye -- by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) in season finale on Sunday.

New England will host the seventh-seeded Chargers next weekend in the AFC Wild Card round.

The Dolphins (7-10) fell short of the postseason and finished with a losing record for the second consecutive season.

Stevenson rushed for two touchdowns and had a scoring reception.

Rookie TreVeon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns for New England, which amassed 243 yards to ground to cap its sixth 14-win season in franchise history.

The Patriots won 14 games for the first time since 2016, and their 10-win turnaround from last season tied the 1999 Colts and 2008 Dolphins for the largest win-difference from one season to the next in NFL history.

Stevenson, who did his damage on the ground on just seven carries, broke a 56-yard run to the Dolphins' 5-yard line on the game's second play. Henderson scored on the next play.

Stevenson later scored on a 2-yard run to give New England a 14-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.

Miami played without running back De'Von Achane, who sat out with a rib injury. The Dolphins rushed for just 63 yards.

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers made his third start and completed 16 of 23 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Ewers' 2-yard touchdown pass to Malik Washington and a 52-yard field goal from Riley Patterson cut the Patriots' lead to 14-10 just before halftime.

Trailing 17-10 early in the third, the Dolphins drove into the red zone, but Ewers was intercepted by Jaylinn Hawkins in the end zone with 11:38 left.

New England separated from that point on as Stevenson scored on the ensuing two drives, first on a 15-yard catch and run from Drake Maye, and later on a 35-yard touchdown run. Maye completed 14 of 18 passes for 191 yards.

--Field Level Media

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