What we learned in “Pats-Dolphins: Pats can't get out of their own way” originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO — Jacoby Brissett moved slowly through the Patriots' locker room Sunday, among the most battered and frustrated players on a battered and frustrated team following a 15-10 loss to Miami.

“Nothing was good,” Brissett said in his postgame press conference.

He wasn't far off, especially from the Patriots' offensive standpoint. Let's get into what we learned in Week 5 – the bad, the ugly, and even a positive note or two.

Lack of discipline rears its ugly head

One could argue that the story of the weekend isn't just that the Patriots lost. That's how they lost. In a winnable game against a team that started a third-string quarterback, Jerod Mayo's team collected 12 penalties for 105 yards. There were actually 14 points conceded on the day (including an intentional delay-of-game penalty), which was arguably the team's sloppiest performance of the year.

The reason this particular distinction is even in doubt is because there have already been several sloppy performances in the last five weeks. While penalties weren't a problem for New England before the Dolphins game – they averaged just four per game before Sunday – there was still a general lack of attention to how penalties are handled.

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Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled four times in the first four games of the year. The Patriots' pass rushers have struggled to keep quarterbacks in the pocket for three weeks in a row. Unblocked pressures have been a problem all season.

Discipline. Lack of concentration. Coaching. They can all be seen as problems in the early stages of this season, and there happened to be a dozen penalties on Sunday that could serve as evidence. Keion White's personal foul penalty (resulted in a field goal) and Christian Elliss' pass interference penalty (resulted in a touchdown) were particularly brutal third-down errors that resulted in points.

This team isn't talented enough to get into the details. And the details still escape them too often.

It wasn't just the offensive line

The Patriots' offense has been derailed at points this season by poor offensive line play. And the same was true for certain moments of Sunday's defeat. On the first drive of the game, Jacoby Brissett was sacked twice, resulting in a total loss of 13 yards.

Brissett was pressured on 49 percent of his dropbacks (18 of 37) and absorbed nine hits. The Patriots' line was also charged with one false start and three holding penalties. Certainly not what you're looking for. Anything but a flawless performance.

But when it came to allowable loads, not everyone was equal. Yes, many arrived quickly. Nine of the 18 players influenced the game less than 2.5 seconds after the snap. Six of those nine influenced the game in less than 2.0 seconds. In all likelihood, quarterbacks don't have much to do in these situations.

But there were five pressures that were generated 3.5 seconds (or longer) after the snap. And there were other unsuccessful passing plays — including a quick swing pass to Rhamondre Stevenson on third down and a sideline shot to Ja'Lynn Polk on third down — that fell short despite a lack of pressure.

The question now becomes whether the line has shown enough to allow Jerod Mayo to play against Drake Maye next week. They had their problems, but they also – as Mayo admitted in his press release on Monday morning – showed progress as they brought out their fifth starting line combination in as many weeks.

The offense got away from what worked

In a game where the Patriots almost averaged enough for a first down on their running plays, they definitely passed a lot.

The team ran for a whopping 7.9 yards per carry, but still passed the football – an average of 4.7 yards per attempt – almost twice as often, totaling 34 attempts. And that wasn't the approach because of the score; The Patriots led for about 44 minutes.

I can't blame the “flow” of the game.

When the Patriots decided to throw, perhaps more than just the sheer volume of throws was a cause for concern.

At the end of the first half, with 1:43 left, the Patriots had the ball at their own five-yard line. They ran for eight yards, and it would have made sense if they had tried to run out the clock or force Miami to call timeouts.

Instead, they came up incomplete twice and stopped the clock with 55 seconds left. After a short punt by Bryce Baringer and a 12-yard return, the Dolphins sniffed field goal range. They blew the chance with a penalty and a botched snap, but New England's clock management was still notable.

Later in the game, with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and three timeouts, the Patriots had a first-and-10 situation against the Dolphins 12. Although they ran the ball well all afternoon, they decided to go for it to pass four times in a row, even against easier boxes on first (six defenders) and second down (five defenders).

Jerod Mayo made it clear that he has no intention of changing game managers any time soon, but the reliance on the pass — when the Patriots possess one of the worst passing attacks in football — raised legitimate questions.

The Patriots still didn't move much on the snap

The Patriots saw a slight increase in the use of motion at the snap, making six plays with that type of motion, accounting for 11.3 percent of their total snaps. They used movement at the snap on eight percent of their plays in the first four weeks of the season. (For reference, the Cowboys ranked 30th in the NFL for four weeks in using motion at the snap on 11.1 percent of their plays.)

The Patriots accumulated 38 yards on those six spontaneous plays, an average of 6.3 yards per play on those calls. On one of those calls, they scored on a run by Antonio Gibson and gained 24 yards.

Brissett has supporters

Although the Patriots' offense is struggling, their offensive players appreciate the toughness and leadership Brissett has shown over the last five weeks. The veteran quarterback took 49 hits at the start of this season.

When asked about the constant conversations outside One Patriot Place about when Maye should play, starting left tackle Vederian Lowe said he trusts the path the coaching staff has taken.

“I would just say we all just have to trust the process,” Lowe said. “Mayo knows exactly what he’s doing. We will continue to do business the way business is done. We will continue to stand behind Jacoby while continuing to promote Drake because he has a bright future in this league. “He will be a great player.

“Jacoby, he’s our man. He is our captain. He leads our offense and has done a great job making sure we are all on the same page. We'll just keep going, keep our heads down, look forward and just keep going. “We've still got a lot of ball left in us, we just need one more chance to get it out.

Christian Gonzalez… Still good

The second-year cover man was in coverage on Tyreek Hill most of the day and allowed just three catches for 55 yards. He also threw a pick, broke up a pass and made six tackles.

After a day where it was difficult to find the positives for New England, Gonzalez clearly fell into that category.