National Football League

In Brady-Henne matchup, numbers didn't tell story

Published Oct. 5, 2010 5:19 a.m. ET

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A look at the stat sheet clearly suggests Chad Henne outplayed Tom Brady.

Oh, it was one-sided, all right.

Just not in the way the numbers indicated.

Henne matched a career-high with three interceptions, and the Miami Dolphins fell apart in the second half of what became a 41-14 loss to the New England Patriots on Monday night.

Henne completed 29 of 39 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns, only to get pulled midway through the final quarter in a fast-emptying stadium.

Brady finished 19 of 24 for a mere 153 yards. Easily good enough to win the game, though.

''Overall, you know, it's my fault, and I'll take it as it is,'' Henne said.

When he throws more than one interception, the Dolphins are 0-4. Though this wasn't totally on Henne, not by any measure.

Special teams were anything but for Miami: The Dolphins gave up a kickoff return for a score, and then got blitzed by a triple play of Patrick Chung - who blocked a punt to set up a touchdown, blocked a field goal that was returned for a TD, then capped Henne's night with a 51-yard return that gave the Patriots a 27-point lead with 6:30 remaining.

Henne spent the rest of the game watching from the sideline. A night that began with such promise ended amid a mess.

''Can't overcome the two turnovers,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said, referring to Henne's first-half giveaways. ''Two turnovers in the first half, I mean, those things are hard to overcome. But we come in at halftime and it's 7-6, so ... it was a mess, it's embarrassing and these fans deserve better than that.''

Henne completed his first seven passes and Miami was rolling in the early minutes, outgaining New England by a huge margin and controlling the clock with ease. But he was intercepted twice by Rob Ninkovich - a former Dolphin - in the first half, miscues that set up two New England field goals.

''We're right down there in the red zone a couple times with ease, and just poor decisions on my part turned the momentum differently,'' Henne said.

And when Henne was picked off again by Chung midway through the fourth quarter, the game was sealed. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall took the blame for that one, calling it a miscommunication, which Henne appreciated.

Henne took the blame anyway. The Dolphins are already in a hole in the AFC East, a full game behind New England and the New York Jets - and 0-1, at home, against both their rivals.

It will make for a less-than-fun bye week.

''Good thing we do have an extra week to get better,'' Henne said. ''We'll just take it to heart. It's going to show some true character in a lot of players, especially myself, to see how we can bounce back.''

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