In 2013, the Patriots have generally been a strong first half team. In week eight against the Dolphins, the Patriots had their worst first half of the season as they trail 17-3 after 30 minutes.
On offense, the Patriots have been completely inept. Tom Brady threw a terrible interception on his first pass of the game that the Dolphins turned into an easy six points. The pass protection and play calling have been suspect, and the running game was stagnant. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a grand total of 25 passing yards. The offense as a total has 59 yards.
Defensively, things haven't fared much better. The Dolphins haven't had much success running up the middle of the Patriots' defense, thanks to Brandon Spikes. But due to the lack of speed from the Patriots linebackers, they've had a field day running to the outside. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a pretty flawless first half, in part thanks to a non-existent pass rush from the Patriots' front four.
The Patriots also seemingly suffered another crippling injury - with right tackle Sebastian Vollmer going down with a seemingly severe leg injury.
There is still a lot of time to go, but this one doesn't look good for the Patriots. It was a prove-it game for the Patriots, but so far, the only thing they've proved is that they could be worse than we thought.