The Patriots faced the Dolphins at home looking not only for revenge, but to clinch the AFC East for the sixth straight season. On the opening drive of the game, the Dolphins raced 57 yards in just 5 plays, all the way to the Patriots 23, setting up a 41-yard field goal attempt by Caleb Sturgis, but Jamie Collins blocked it, Kyle Arrington picked it up and raced 62 yards for a touchdown. After a Dolphins punt, the Pats drove 42 yards to the Dolphins 38, but Brady was intercepted by Jason Trusnik at the 34. The Dolphins drove 60 yards to the Patriots 6, but the red zone defense forced them to kick a 24-yard field goal. After a Patriots punt, the Dolphins drove to their own 45, but Ryan Tannehill was intercepted by Duron Harmon at the Patriots 34 and returned the ball 60 yards to the Dolphins 8. Three plays later, Shane Vereen ran in a 3-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 14-3. Jarvis Landry returned the ensuing kick 26 yards to the Dolphins 37. They drove 38 yards to the Patriots 35, but Sturgis kicked a 53-yard field goal. After the next three drives ended in punts, with the first half winding down, Tannehill connected with Wallace on a 32-yard touchdown bomb with 0:05 left to trim the score to 14-13 on a play that was initially ruled a drop. After a decent offensive showing in the first half, the Patriots went on a barrage of scoring in the third quarter. After returning the kickoff 19 yards to the 21, the Patriots stormed 79 yards in just 8 plays, increasing their lead to 21-13 on LeGarrette Blount's 3-yard touchdown run. After a Dolphins three-and-out, the Patriots drove 47 yards to the Dolphins 17 where Gostkowski drilled a 35-yard for goal, increasing the lead to 24-13. Patrick Chung intercepted a pass on the first play of the next drive and returned it 10 yards to the Dolphins 27. The Patriots cashed it in for a touchdown on the first play with Brady air mailing a 27-yard touchdown strike to Rob Gronkowski, upping the lead to 31-13. After another Dolphins three-and-out, the Patriots need just three plays to put the game on ice. First Jonas Gray ran for 6 yards to the Dolphins 41, followed by Brady hooking up with Gronkowski for 35 yards to the Patriots 6. Brady then found Edelman for the 6-yard touchdown pass on the next play, making the score 38-13. The Dolphins drove 65 yards in 14 plays to the Patriots 25, but on 4th-and-18, Daniel Thomas could only gain 10 yards and the Dolphins turned the ball over on downs. The Patriots scored the final points on a 36-yarder, making the score 41-13. The Dolphins turned the ball over on downs and the Patriots took a knee to end the game. The Patriots offensive line was immensely better than the opening day game against Miami as Brady wasn't sacked at all. Brady tossed 2 TDs to Edelman and Gronkowski while Vereen and Blount picked up rushing TDs. Gronkowski was their leading receiver with 96 yards and 1 touchdown on just 3 catches, and in the process secured his second 1,000 yard season. Miami picked up 384 yards of offense, but mostly couldn't get out of their own way with two turnovers and some awful drops, including a dropped touchdown by Mike Wallace. With the blowout win, the Patriots improved to 11-3, clinching their 17th AFC East title in franchise history, the 12th in the Brady-Belichick era, and their 6th straight.
Which player scored the first rushing touchdown of the game?
Shane Vereen