Milton Williams, Patriots defense made plays when it mattered vs. Dolphins
The New England Patriots paid Milton William the big bucks over the offseason to make big plays on Sunday. While the Patriots defense struggled as a whole in Week 2 down in Miami, Williams has been the game-wrecker New England was seeking.
On Sunday, Williams was the game-saver too, as he brought down Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on Miami's final offensive play of the game. With the Dolphins at the New England 28-yard line, Williams blew through the Miami offensive line and sacked Tagovailoa on fourth-and-12 to make sure there was no Miami Miracle to sink New England's 33-27 victory -- the team's first win of the season.
New England's defense ices it. pic.twitter.com/TQ5Cn83JnW
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
That was the second of two sacks by Williams on Sunday, though his first just involved the big man chasing Tua out of bounds at the line of scrimmage. His game-saving sack was much more impressive.
The Miami offensive line couldn't handle Williams on the play, but the lineman gave linebacker Harold Landry an assist for helping his burst through the line.
"The whole game they did a good job of making sure to get the ball out of Tua's hand quick, and we just kept going," Williams said after the win. "Me and Harold made a good call on that one because it was starting to chip on that side. We made a call to run a game, and shoot, I got off the ball and executed when they need to be executed."
Williams also had five QB pressures to go with his two sacks on Sunday, according to PFF. He has 10 QB pressures over the first two weeks of the season, as the Patriots have really ramped up their pass rush under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel.
Williams and Christian Barmore put a ton of stress on the Miami offensive line throughout Sunday's win, and Landry added another sack to his tally after he recorded 2.5 in Week 1. Robert Spillane and K'Lavon Chaisson also had sacks for the Patriots on Sunday.
The Patriots are now up to nine sacks on the young season, after the team ranked last in the NFL with 28 sacks in 2024. New England's 12 QB pressures are the 12th-most in football through two weeks.
The Patriots made big investments in Williams ($104 million) and Landry this offseason ($43.5 million), but they're paying instant dividends on the New England defense.
"We've been working. We've been going hard. Coach has been on us. This ain't going to do nothing but help us," Williams said Sunday. "Just keep going, keep building. We've gotta move on quick in this league and get ready for Pittsburgh coming in here next week, but this is a good win for us. Good division win. We're back at .500. Let's keep building on that."
Still some holes in Patriots defense
While the Patriots defense made plays when it mattered on Sunday, it wasn't a very good day for the defense as a whole. With Christian Gonzalez sidelined again with his lingering hamstring injury, Tua and the Dolphins ripped the New England secondary to shreds.
The game turned into a shootout as Tagovailoa racked up 315 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81 percent of his passes. Overall, Miami averaged 6.9 yards per play against New England.
The Patriots' man coverage is a mess without Gonzalez, and Tagovailoa was able to pick apart the team's zone defense throughout the game on Sunday.
Until the end, that is, when the New England defense came through. Landry's sack came with the Dolphins facing a third-and-7 with just over three minutes to play to set up a must-have fourth down for Miami. Tagovailoa felt pressure on the next play and threw a terrible pick to Marte Mapu in the middle of the field.
Each of Miami's final two drives ended with no points on the board, thanks in large part to the pressure generated by New England's defensive front and pass rushers. There is still work to do with the defense, but the the Patriots made the plays needed to escape with the team's first win of the season on Sunday.