New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas (3) celebrates with wide receiver Kyle Williams, left, fter scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas (3) celebrates with wide receiver Kyle Williams, left, fter scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Trailing by double-digit points after two quarters, the Patriots needed offensive playmakers to step up in the second half on Sunday, and wide receivers DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams rose to the challenge.
The Patriots entered their Week 8 matchup with the Dolphins with A.J. Brown out with knee and ankle injuries and Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins on injured reserve. That left Douglas, Williams, Efton Chism and Ryan Miller, who was elevated from the practice squad Saturday, as their only wide receivers.
Williams gave the Patriots their first touchdown of the afternoon, going deep for a 43-yard touchdown catch over Dolphins safety Michael Taaffe.
It was Williams’ fifth receiving touchdown of 30-plus yards during his two-year career. He’s tied for the second-most 30-plus-yard receiving touchdowns since the start of the 2025 season behind the Packers’ Christian Watson, per ESPN Research.
Williams called it “validation.”
“I know the plays that I can make,” Williams said. “I know the plays that we’re capable of making. So, when those type of plays happen, I don’t think it’s a surprise for us. And for us now, it’s just about doing it again, being consistent.”
Williams’ touchdown was initially ruled incomplete because the ball popped out as he was running into the end zone. Head coach Mike Vrabel fired the challenge flag onto the field to overturn the ruling, because he “was a lot more certain than the officials were the first time they called it.”
Quarterback Drake Maye gave the Patriots a lead with a 2-yard rushing touchdown later in the third quarter. Then Douglas broke the game open with a 48-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
“Man, I love the preparation that we have,” Douglas said. “We have big guys go down and how we prepare and we don’t skip a beat. I applaud Chis (Chism) and Dub (Williams). They come, stepping in, and they’re playing their role. Third down, touchdowns. Chis making big plays to move that rock, man. Man, I’m proud of our group.”
Chism lost a fumble early in Sunday’s contest but still finished with five catches on five targets for 37 yards. He picked up a first down with a 12-yard catch on fourth-and-3 late in the second quarter.
Hollins, who has a calf injury, is eligible to be activated off of injured reserve this week. Doubs can’t be activated until after the Patriots’ Week 11 bye. Brown already missed four games with a high ankle sprain. Then he couldn’t finish practice Wednesday because of a knee injury and didn’t return to the field Thursday or Friday.
His status bears monitoring entering the Patriots’ Week 9 matchup with the Packers.