Playing their second divisional opponent in as many weeks, the Patriots returned home looking for their 22nd straight regular season victory, a streak extending back to December 2006 when the Dolphins shut out the Patriots in Miami. Despite a 50-yard Hobbs return on the opening kickoff, the Patriots and Dolphins exchanged three-and-out punts to begin the game. On their second drive, the Patriots got as far as the Dolphins' 7-yard line, but back-to-back sacks of Cassel set up 3rd-and-goal, where Cassel threw his first interception of the season, to Dolphins defensive lineman Randy Starks. Starting from their own 26-yard line, the Dolphins drove into the Patriots' red zone in part from two catches by tight end Anthony Fasano from Chad Pennington for 47 yards. On 2nd-and-goal from the Patriots' 2-yard line, the Dolphins lined up with an unbalanced offensive line and with Pennington as a wide receiver and had running back Ronnie Brown take a direct snap from a shotgun formation; Brown proceeded to fake an end-around to running back Ricky Williams before running for the touchdown to give the Dolphins a 7-0 lead. This formation, known as the "Wildcat," was developed by Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano and quarterbacks coach David Lee following the Dolphins' loss to the Arizona Cardinals the week prior. The Patriots' ensuing possession reached the Dolphins' red zone again on 13 plays, but ended with the Patriots settling for a 37-yard Gostkowski field goal, trimming to the Dolphins' lead to 7-3 early in the second quarter. The Dolphins' next drive began with a 33-yard reception by wide receiver Greg Camarillo; five plays later, Brown scored his second touchdown of the day with a 15-yard third-down run, extending the Dolphins' lead to 14-3. On their next drive, the Patriots reached the Dolphins' 28-yard line on a 21-yard completion by Welker on a Cassel pass that was tipped by Dolphins safety Renaldo Hill. However, the Patriots gained only two more yards before Gostkowski hit his second field goal of the day, this one from 44 yards out, to cut the Dolphins' lead to 14-6. On the first play of the ensuing drive, the Dolphins again employed a direct snap to Brown, who this time proceeded to hand off to Williams, gaining three yards on the play. With two minutes remaining in the first half, the Dolphins faced a 1st-and-10 from the Patriots' 45-yard line; Williams again took the hand-off on the direct snap to Brown, but this time went for 28 yards to put the Dolphins in the Patriots' red zone. Three plays later, the Dolphins again used the "Wildcat" formation, and Brown took the direct snap and ran five yards for his third touchdown of the day, giving the Dolphins a 21-6 lead at the half. After an exchange of punts began the second half, the Dolphins drove from their own 21-yard line to a 3rd-and-3 from the Patriots' 19-yard line. The Dolphins again used the "Wildcat"; this time Brown threw a halfback pass to Fasano for a 19-yard touchdown that extended the Dolphins' lead to 28-6. Hobbs returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to have the next Patriots' possession begin from the Dolphins' 23-yard line. On 4th-and-3, Cassel hit wide receiver Jabar Gaffney for a 5-yard touchdown that cut the Dolphins' lead to 28-13. The Dolphins' ensuing possession featured Brown touching the ball on every play; after a first-down reception, Brown ran four times in a row to give the Dolphins a 1st-and-10 from their own 38-yard line. The Dolphins again lined up Brown to receive the direct snap; this time he ran 62 yards for his fourth rushing touchdown of the day, a Dolphins record. Early in the fourth quarter, Hobbs returned the Patriots' next kickoff 31 yards, setting his own team record with 237 kickoff return yards in the game. Three plays later, Cassel fumbled on a third-down scramble that was forced by Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter and recovered by Dolphins defensive lineman Phillip Merling at the Patriots' 49-yard line. After a Dolphins' three-and-out, the Patriots began their next drive with a Cassel interception thrown to Hill that was negated on a roughing the passer penalty on defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday; the Patriots punted four plays later. The Dolphins' next drive ended in a 39-yard Dan Carpenter field goal that gave the Dolphins a 38-13 lead. After an unsuccessful fourth-down conversion attempt on a pass by backup Patriots quarterback Kevin O'Connell and a Dolphins punt, that score became the final. The loss dropped the Patriots to 2-1 and to second place in the AFC East and remained a game behind the Buffalo Bills.. Which team got on the board first?