Patriots, doomed by slow start, look ahead to playoffs
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Slater quickly sounded the alarm. The consistent thread in the final three New England losses of the regular season — all of which came in the Patriots’ final four games — was slow starts, and another one doomed them Sunday in a 33-24 defeat at Miami. So, a few minutes after the Dolphins game was over, Slater made it clear: The slow starts have to end, or the season probably will much sooner than the Patriots would like.