The New England Patriots were short-handed without Rob Gronkowski or Sony Michel Cheap Customized New England Patriots Jerseys , but there are simply too many playmakers on the offense. Tom Brady and company took their time, but eventually broke out in the fourth quarter to defeat the Green Bay Packers 31-17.Tom Brady had a fine dayBrady did enough on Sunday night for the Patriots to win. I wouldn’t say it was a great outing and I would argue that calling it “very good” might also be a stretch. Brady completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9%) for 294 yards and 1 touchdown and a 99.0 passer rating. My expectations are high and he benefit from a lot of yards after the catch.Brady continues to miss some passes and have miscommunications with his receivers. He’s reacting more to pressure and he really struggled in the red zone, completing 2 of 9 for 9 yards, adding 1 rush for 2 yards and a first down. Part of the issue was the absence of Rob Gronkowski (and Gronk’s limitations all year), but Brady’s red zone production is a major red flag that has to be fixed over the second half of the season.Cordarrelle Patterson needs to stay on the fieldPatterson finished the day with 61 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and added a 7-yard reception. When the Patriots signed Patterson, Bill Belichick told the receiver, “We’ll make you the player you should be.”I think we know what that player should be.Patterson ran hard and slashed his way down the field and his versatility is hard to defend. If you’re a defensive coordinator and Patterson’s in the backfield http://www.newenglandpatriotsteamonline.com/patrick-chung-jersey , you have to keep an extra defensive back on the field because you don’t want to have a linebacker responsible for covering Patterson in the open field. But the defensive back will likely be a weaker run defender, giving Patterson a clear advantage in the box.Even when Michel returns, Patterson should stick around on the field for New England and I would love to see some 2-running back sets with Patterson and either Michel or James White in the red zone to stress the edges of the opposing defense. The Patriots need to get Patterson 5-10 touches a game.James White is the heart of the offenseMove over Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, White is the most important non-Brady player in the Patriots offense. White had 12 carries for 31 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 6 receptions for 72 yards. This was White’s third multi-touchdown game of the season and he’s racked up 765 yards and 10 touchdowns this year, both career highs.Brady continues to look to White when all else fails in the offense and the running back’s reliability gives him the edge as the most important skill player in the Patriots offense.Josh Gordon is hereGordon finished the day with 5 catches for 130 yards and an impressive 55-yard touchdown. This was Gordon’s second 100+ yard game, both in the past three weeks, and he’s really emerged as Brady’s most productive receiver.He now has 396 yards and 2 touchdowns in 6 games with the Patriots. He’s on pace for 875 yards and 5 touchdowns this year Authentic Trent Brown Jersey , which would be the second-best of his career, behind only his 2013 All Pro season.He’s going to keep getting better. Gordon is here.Brian Flores coached a heckuva gameWe can talk about how the Packers gained 368 yards on the day, and that Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 3 back-breaking catches for 101 yards, and that the Packers averaged 4.7 yards per carry, but I think Brian Flores coached the Patriots defense to one of their best performances of the year.The Patriots defense reminded me of their performance against the 2013 Denver Broncos, where they allowed the opposition to gash them on the ground to take the ball away from Peyton Manning and the potent receivers.Packers running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams gained 110 yards on 21 carries (5.24 YPC), but outside of Scantling’s 3 incredible catches http://www.newenglandpatriotsteamonline.com/ryan-allen-jersey , Aaron Rodgers threw for just 158 yards. Rodgers completed a mere 55.8% of his passes.That means that the Patriots did a great job limiting the best player from the Packers offense and it was clear that Rodgers never felt comfortable all day.Adrian Clayborn had his best day at the officeClayborn finished the day with half a sack and a forced fumble, but he was much more active. He chipped in a pair of quarterback hits and had another forced fumble called back due to a penalty. While Clayborn’s struggled at times with gap integrity on the edge and allowing quarterbacks and running backs to turn the corner, that wasn’t an issue today and Clayborn kept Rodgers inside the pocket.Clayborn played at the level the Patriots need him to play at in order to complement Trey Flowers and force opposing teams to respect multiple players on the Patriots defensive line.Stephon Gilmore is an All Pro cornerbackGilmore had a pass defended and a fumble recovery, but more importantly he did an outstanding job of removing Packers top receiver Davante Adams from the game. Adams had 6 catches for 40 yards and a touchdown with the majority of those catches coming on crossers against zone defenses. The Packers moved Adams to the inside of formations to try and get him away from Gilmore- and Gilmore managed to get under Adams’ skin late in the game.Gilmore’s been the Patriots best defensive back all season and he’s passed this test with flying colors. He’s playing the cornerback position as well as any cornerback we’ve seen under Bill Belichick- and an All Pro caliber cornerback is an ingredient on every Patriots Super Bowl team.Patriots have one more test before their bye weekNew England is limping with so many injuries and they have one more test before they have a pretty favorable home stretch. The Patriots are on the road next week with a 1:00 PM game against the Tennessee Titans, losers of three straight and playing on Monday Night Football this week- so the Titans will face the Patriots while coming off a short week.The Titans are 3-4, but they’re a couple bounces away from being 0-7...and they’re also a couple bounces away from being 5-2. If the Patriots can get past the Titans, they’ll get the bye week and hopefully everyone will be able to rest and get healthier for the final six games. The Patriots have four games against their AFC East rivals Authentic Jonathan Jones Jersey , including a pair against the New York Jets; they host the Minnesota Vikings in week 13; and they’re on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 15.It wouldn’t be shocking if the Patriots win out, although a loss or two wouldn’t be surprising. If everyone can get healthy over the bye week, then the Patriots will be in great position to challenge for homefield advantage in the AFC. MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Dolphins are turning to their AFC East nemesis for help.New England Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores is a finalist in the Dolphins’ coaching search, a person familiar with the decision said Friday, and they’re expected to offer him the job when his team’s postseason ends.The person confirmed the decision to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins weren’t commenting publicly about the status of the search.If they fail to reach a deal with Flores, they haven’t ruled out Dallas Cowboys secondary coach Kris Richard.Flores has been a Patriots assistant for 11 seasons and took over defensive play-calling a year ago after the departure of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. In Miami he would replace Adam Gase, who was fired after three seasons and hired Wednesday as coach of the New York Jets.New England plays the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC playoffs Sunday. The Dolphins have been also-rans to the first-place Patriots in the AFC East 15 of the past 16 years.Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and general manager Chris Grier zeroed in on Flores after interviewing two Dolphins assistants Friday: special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. Both were considered long shots.Ross and Grier earlier interviewed New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.Miami has finished with six to eight wins in nine of the past 10 years Womens Rex Burkhead Jersey , and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000. As a result, the 78-year-old Ross said the Dolphins will abandon their win-now approach and build with the long term in mind.A roster revamp is expected to include the departure of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has been with the team since 2012. The next coach, who will report to Grier, will be Miami’s 10th since 2004, including three interim coaches.