Passage: Looking to avoid back-to-back divisional losses, the Patriots traveled to Miami to face the 6-4 Dolphins at Dolphin Stadium. After Carpenter's kickoff was returned from the 29-yard line by Matthew Slater, the Patriots began their first possession at their own 40-yard line. Cassel's first two passes were both completed for first downs, putting the Patriots in Dolphins territory and eventually their red zone. However, a holding penalty on Neal pushed the Patriots back 10 yards, forcing a 30-yard Gostkowski field goal four plays later that gave the Patriots a 3-0 lead. Following a Dolphins three-and-out, the Patriots' second drive ended when a Cassel pass to Moss was bobbled by both Moss and cornerback Jason Allen to keep the ball in the air until Renaldo Hill intercepted it; a 17-yard return gave the Dolphins the ball at the Patriots' 42-yard line. On the next play, a 29-yard David Martin reception moved the Dolphins into the Patriots' red zone, where the Dolphins used their "Wildcat" formation on the next two plays. A Tedy Bruschi unnecessary roughness penalty on the second Ronnie Brown run set up a first-and-goal, where Camarillo caught a 3-yard pass from Pennington for a touchdown, giving the Dolphins a 7-3 lead. The Patriots responded with a 12-play, 74-yard drive that ended on the first play of the second quarter, an 8-yard touchdown scramble by Cassel to give the Patriots the lead again, 10-7. The Dolphins' next drive went three-and-out despite two more plays using the "Wildcat" formation, giving the Patriots the ball at their own 41-yard line. On a 1-yard Morris run from the Dolphins' 28-yard line, linebacker Matt Roth forced a fumble during the tackle; the ball was recovered by Dolphins cornerback Andr&#233; Goodman at the Dolphins' 28-yard line. The Dolphins took advantage of the turnover, going 72 yards on 12 plays and re-taking the lead at 14-10 on a 7-yard Pennington touchdown scramble. Carpenter's ensuing kickoff was returned by Slater from the Patriots' 24-yard line, setting up the Patriots' next drive to begin from their own 37-yard line. Six plays later, Cassel completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Moss that gave the Patriots the lead again, 17-14. After an exchange of three-and-outs, the Dolphins began their final drive of the half with 39 seconds remaining and moved into Patriots territory. However, a false start on wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. followed by a Vrabel sack of Pennington ended the first half. Due to their deferral of the opening kickoff, the Dolphins elected to receive the opening kickoff of the second half. A 46-yard Pennington pass to Ginn on the first play moved the Dolphins to the Patriots' 36-yard line; six plays later, Pennington hit fullback Casey Cramer on a 2-yard touchdown catch that gave the Dolphins the lead again at 21-17. The Patriots responded by going 78 yards on 11 plays, re-taking the lead yet again on the second Moss touchdown catch of the day; the 8-yard grab put the Patriots ahead 24-21. The Dolphins' next drive got as far as the Patriots' 27-yard line, but an offensive holding penalty, incomplete pass, and sack forced the Dolphins to punt from the Patriots' 42-yard line. Two plays later, Cassel completed a pass to Welker across the middle; the wide receiver ran along the sideline after the catch to pick up 64 yards on the play. After an incomplete pass to Moss, a 21-yard Faulk touchdown run extended the Patriots' lead to 31-21 on the final play of the third quarter. Four plays into the Dolphins' ensuing drive, on 3rd-and-3, Pennington hit wide receiver Davone Bess for a 36-yard gain to put the Dolphins in the Patriots' red zone. On the next play, a diving Ricky Williams 13-yard touchdown catch cut the Patriots' lead to 31-28. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from their own 42-yard line during their next drive, the Patriots moved into Dolphins territory on a 23-yard Gaffney catch. Two plays later, Cassel and Moss connected for their third touchdown pass of the day, this one from 29 yards out, to give the Patriots a 38-28 lead. On the next play, Meriweather intercepted a Pennington pass and returned it 19 yards to the Dolphins' 18-yard line. However, safety Yeremiah Bell sacked Cassel on 3rd-and-2 to set up a 30-yard Gostkowski field goal that extended the Patriots lead to 41-28 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. Starting from their own 1-yard after a Ginn kick return for a loss and a holding penalty, the Dolphins moved the ball as far as their 44-yard line on 10 plays, but could not successfully convert on fourth down to turn the ball back over to the Patriots. The Patriots, with just four minutes remaining in the game, exclusively ran Green-Ellis running plays on their ensuing possession, moving into the Dolphins' red zone on back-to-back unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties by Porter. On the six play of the drive, a fourth down, Green-Ellis ran for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 48-28 lead. Down by 20 points, the Dolphins ran one play in the remaining 37 seconds to end the game and improve the Patriots' record to 7-4. The Patriots' 530 net yards of offense were the second highest output in team history, behind the Patriots' 597 yards in 1979. Cassel's 415 passing yards made him the second quarterback in Patriots history to throw for at least 400 yards in two or more games; Drew Bledsoe had four 400+ yard passing games in his Patriots career.
Output: Which team got the ball first?