The New England Patriots didn't open the 2022 season the way they would've liked. They fell to the Miami Dolphins, 20-7, in a largely uninspiring performance. With that said, here are our Patriots takeaways from Week 1 loss vs. Dolphins.

5. Kendrick Bourne's continued benching for New England Patriots is bizarre

Kendrick Bourne appears to still be in the Patriots' doghouse. The receiver didn't play until there were less than six minutes left in the game, when New England was down 20-7 and at their own 5-yard line. So, pretty much in desperation time.

And on his second snap, Bourne hauled in a 41-yard reception to get the Patriots into Dolphins territory.

Bourne didn't get much of a chance to do anything after the big reception, as Nelson Agholor fumbled the ball two plays later, ending the Patriots' comeback hopes.

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But it's clear that Mac Jones has a tremendous amount of trust in Bourne. He was the Patriots' second-leading receiver a year ago and the two continued to form a bond over offseason workouts. And it's not like New England had tremendous play at receiver prior to Bourne's catch, either. Jakobi Meyers was the only receiver to have more than three receptions, and he only had four.

4. The Patriots' offensive line continues to struggle 

The turning moment of Sunday's game came due to poor play from New England's offensive line.

After a big third-down reception by Agholor in the second quarter, the Patriots gave up a sack and a two-yard loss in back-to-back plays. A third-down completion on the next play wasn't enough for the Patriots to continue the drive, but it got the ball back not much later still down 3-0.

The Patriots' offensive line failed in a big way on the second play of the drive. Dolphins safety Brandon Jones rushed into the Patriots' backfield cleanly on a blitz, strip-sacking an unaware Jones that led to a scoop-and-score for Melvin Ingram. It ended up being the game's deciding score as it put the Dolphins up 10-0.

Jones wasn't sacked for the remainder of the game, but New England struggled to get yards on the ground for much of the afternoon. It only had 78 yards on 22 carries, with Rhamondre Stevenson having just 25 yards on eight carries.

The Patriots also played some musical chairs at left guard, too. Rookie Cole Strange was removed in the second quarter for a pair of drives after the first sack New England allowed. He came back in though in the second half though, a sign that he was briefly benched due to poor communication that led to the first sack.

3. Patriots defense fails to make big plays at the right time

The Patriots' defense allowed only 13 points and 307 yards. Normally, that should be a strong enough performance to win a game.

But with the Patriots' offensive struggles plus a lack of clutch plays from the defense let the Dolphins win by multiple scores. For starters, New England didn't force a turnover while Miami forced three. The Dolphins also converted 6-of-14 third-down conversions, including three of their last four that allowed them to ice the game.

The Patriots' most egregious play of the day on defense though came on a fourth-down play. On fourth-and-7, Tua Tagovailoa found Jaylen Waddle for a pass over the middle. The play should've resulted in an easy tackle for the Patriots secondary at that point. But safety Kyle Dugger took the wrong angle when trying to tackle Waddle, allowing the receiver to run free into the end zone. Instead of forcing the Dolphins to take a relatively long field goal ahead of the half, the Dolphins carried a 17-0 lead instead because of that play.

Tagovailoa didn't have the most eye-popping day stat-wise, completing 23-of-33 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. But the Patriots' defense allowed his easy completions to result in decent gains. They also should've had a pair of interceptions, too.

2. Mac Jones spreads the ball all over for the Patriots

As mentioned earlier, no receiver stood out for New England on Sunday, which isn't the greatest sign for Jones and the passing game.

Meyers led all Patriots receivers with four receptions for 55 yards, with nearly half of those yards coming on a 27-yard grab. But now one else was able to standout on Sunday. Jones forced a fade pass to DeVante Parker on the opening drive. With All-Pro corner Xavien Howard covering him though, the play resulted in an interception as Howard batted the ball to Dolphins safety Jevon Holland in the end zone.

There were a couple of positive developments though for Jones and the passing game. They successfully got tight end Jonnu Smith involved a few times after he struggled for much of the 2021 season. Smith had three receptions for 33 yards, getting the ball in space to create yards after the catch. Ty Montgomery also chipped in by catching the Patriots' only touchdown of the day.

However, there were too many times though were Jones was either pressured too soon or held the ball for too long, which could've been due to receivers not getting open. On a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter, Jones held the ball for several seconds before lobbing a pass down the field to Hunter Henry, who had several Dolphins defenders surrounding him. The pass fell incomplete.

1. The Patriots' defensive line brings the lone positive of the day

If there is anything for Patriots fans to be happy with in Sunday's dreadful loss to the Dolphins, it's that the defensive line looks to be a strong unit.

Miami's passing game was largely predicated on quick passes from Tagovailoa. Yet, New England was still able to record three sacks and seven quarterback hits. Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon had one of those sacks and accounted for four of the quarterback hits, a good sign that he still has it as a pass-rusher after tailing off at the end of last season.

Deatrich Wise recorded the first sack of the day while linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley added the third sack on a perfectly executed blitz. Christian Barmore was also able to get a part of the action as a pass-rusher, too.

Miami's ground game was also non-existent for the most part. The Dolphins ran for just 65 yards on 22 carries with the Patriots recording six tackles for loss, a positive development after they were ran all over on in the final five games of last season.