Former Patriots Player Fires a Shot After Revenge Win: ‘Honeymoon’s Over’
The New England Patriots were looking to exact some revenge on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. One year ago, the Dolphins came into Foxboro and shocked the world by defeating the Patriots, preventing them from earning a first-round bye. Sunday, the Patriots were looking to return the favor by trying to lessen the chance of the Dolphins making the playoffs. It didn’t work out. One former Patriots player, now on the Dolphins, was seeking revenge for a different reason.
The Patriots and Dolphins have had some epic battles
The Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots first met on Nov. 27, 1966, and have played each other 111 times. The Dolphins hold a slight advantage in the all-time series with a 57-54 record. The current AFC East rivals have had some intense battles on the field.
One of the strangest and most interesting games between the two teams happened on Dec. 12, 1982. With offense limited because of a raging snowstorm, the teams were locked in a scoreless tie. Patriots coach Ron Meyer called upon a convict on work release, Mark Henderson, to come out on a slow plow in the fourth quarter to clear a path for Patriots kicker John Smith. Smith made the game-winning kick, enraging Dolphins coach Don Shula.
In 2008, the Dolphins snapped the Patriots 20-game regular-season win streak by throwing them off with a Wildcat offense that led to a 38-13 victory. In 2018, the Dolphins stunned the Patriots in a game now known as the Miracle in Miami. The Dolphins scored in the final minute after using a desperation hook-and-lateral to knock off the Patriots.
New England missed out on an opportunity for revenge
Last year, the New England Patriots needed a win at home against the Miami Dolphins to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Dolphins entered with a 4-11 record and not much of a chance against the Tom Brady-led Pats, who were 11-4. the Dolphins scored with 24 seconds left when quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki.
“Nobody feels sorry for the Patriots not getting a first-round bye in the playoffs,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said, according to ESPN. “We gotta move forward and get ready to go or the end of our season will be next week if we don’t turn the page and play good football way better than today.”
The Patriots did make the postseason, but had a quick turnaround and had to play the following week. New England hosted the Tennessee Titans and the Patriots were once again stunned. They dropped a 20-13 decision to Tennessee as their season came to an end.
Former Patriots player gets revenge against New England
Miami Dolphins linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who played for the New England Patriots from 2016-2019, really wanted to get back at the Patriots. It wasn’t that he had any hard feeling from his four years playing in New England. It was because of something that happened in Week 1 this year when the Patriots defeated the Dolphins 21-11 to open the season.
Van Noy wasn’t too happy with what he saw from his former teammates in the season opener. He was happy to get some revenge after that loss. “They kind of schemed us up the first time,” Van Noy said, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I’m going to keep it real. They thought everything was good … if that makes sense. They were all laughing and joking. We remembered that, and we’re in a different situation than they were. They were basically already eliminated. We just needed to basically finish it, and we did that today. I think the honeymoon’s over. We got the job done.” The tables seem to have turned in the AFC East.
