The Patriots have had some rough trips to Miami in the past and it looked like this might be another one through the first 30 minutes of play, but things took a positive turn after halftime.

The Dolphins led 13-3 at the break, but the Patriots scored the first 21 points of the second half to build a two-score lead of their own. The Dolphins cut into that just before the two minute warning on a 35-yard Kevin Coleman touchdown catch, but they missed the extra point and the Patriots were able to run out the clock on a 24-19 win after recovering the onside kick.

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson picked up the final yards and he had 18 carries for 77 yards overall, but quarterback Drake Maye was in the center of the action for the Patriots’ comeback.

After going 7-of-10 for 53 yards while being sacked twice in the first half, Maye completed eight straight passes to open the second half. Those passes picked up 144 yards and two of them went for touchdowns that covered more than 40 yards. The first was to Kyle Williams and the other was a short throw to Pop Douglas that Douglas turned into a 48-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Douglas’s touchdown came a couple of plays after safety Kevin Byard’s first interception as a Patriot. Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis’s throw went off of Patriots defensive lineman DaQuan Jones’s helmet and spun into the air before coming down to Byard for Miami’s first turnover of the game.

Maye also ran for a two-yard score and it makes two weeks in a row that Maye has produced points with his arm and his legs. It’s also five straight games with multiple touchdown passes for Maye, which is made all the more impressive given how little of that success has come with wide receiver A.J. Brown playing a meaningful role on the New England offense.

Brown missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury and the 5-3 Patriots will wait to see if he’s able to return for next Sunday’s game against the Packers.

Willis was 21-of-32 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, which makes it two straight strong performances for the first-year starter in Miami. Running back Ollie Gordon added 19 carries for 69 yards, but had a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after one of his runs and the Dolphins don’t have the kind of margin for error that allows them to overcome mistakes on a regular basis.

They’ll stay at home for a visit from the Lions in Week 9 and the 1-5 club will need to be sharper if they want to pull off an upset in that matchup.