Dolphins Defeated by Patriots

Miami snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory with a little help from the officials. The Patirots won 26-23 in a game that went down to the wire. The calls went the Patriots way and it made a difference. O.J. McDuffie was ruled not to have caught a pass that would have kept a drive alive. The replay showed it was a clean catch. On the last drive of the game, Shawn Jefferson caught a pass on a one-hop which would have ended the game for New England. Miami almost pulled out the game with a Hail Mary, but ran out of time before they could call a time-out to set up a field goal try.

Player Quotes

"I looked up and he was running wide open," Brian Walker said of Jefferson on the game winning touchdown.

"It's the toughest loss of my career,'' Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas said. "They had two fourth downs and made both. And there was a third down when I had a sack and let Bledsoe slip out."

"I didn't know if I was helping the team or hurting the team by being out there because I couldn't grip the ball very well," Drew Bledsoe said. "I had stuck my finger in somebody's pads and hurt it. "

Coach Quotes

"We got big plays at big moments of this ballgame," New England coach Pete Carroll said. "It was great to see us come through on fourth down twice when we needed it. Drew showed the kind of leader he is. We didn't panic, we came out on top. This gives us some new momentum, we have to keep it going against Buffalo."