The Patriots offense will have plenty to talk about after this one. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP

The first live performance of the New England Patriots’ reworked offense didn’t result in many fireworks. It was more akin to waving around some sparklers aimlessly before randomly firing off a Roman candle at the end of the night to provide a little excitement.

Matt Patricia made the calls and Mac Jones made some adjustments. However, the offensive line made points hard to come by, and the receivers struggled to make big plays.

With that said, the Patriots managed to move the ball, averaging 5.0 yards per play (compared to 5.2 for the Dolphins). New England just fell apart at the worst times.

As for the defense, there was plenty to like as it held Miami’s offense to just 13 points (with the Dolphins defense scoring the other seven).

So what went wrong? Let’s hand out some grades and figure it out following the Patriots’ 20-7 loss to the Dolphins in Week 1:

(Stats: 21-of-30 passing, 217 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 87.2 passer rating)

Looking at the numbers, this wasn’t a terrible game for Jones. He accounted for two turnovers but had some bad breaks there.

Here’s the good: Jones appeared to do a solid job checking in and out of plays and navigating the offense. He found open receivers throughout the day and looked on point with his connection to Jakobi Meyers. Overall, he was accurate and did a good job of getting the ball to his receivers.

His 41-yard bomb down the sideline to Kendrick Bourne was his best play of the day.

Then there’s the bad: His interception came on a jump ball to DeVante Parker where the receiver never managed to get up to make a play on it (arguably due to a missed pass interference call). As for his fumble, he was absolutely smoked by an unblocked defender coming off his blind side.

Elsewhere, Jones made some throws with too much touch and not enough zip, giving defenders a chance to make plays on them.

This was a decent game from Jones, but the Patriots need him to be better than this in Year 2.

The running game ran hot-and-cold on the afternoon as the blocking came and went. Patriots backs did a good job with what they could get. Damien Harris in particular ran with burst, going for 48 yards on nine carries. He also looked fluid as a pass-catcher, making a couple of grabs out of the backfield.

Ty Montgomery didn’t do much on the ground, but looked good in the passing game in his Patriots debut. He finished with three catches for 15 yards, including the team’s only touchdown.

Jakobi Meyers looked great in this one while dealing with a knee injury, catching four passes for 55 yards. His 27-yard grab over a defender was one of the highlights of the game, and one of multiple clutch third-down catches.

Outside of that, it was a mixed bag.

Nelson Agholor had three catches for 28 yards, including a 17-yard screen pass to move the chains on third down. He also had a touch fumble in the closing minutes that pretty much sealed the game for Miami.

Kendrick Bourne was bafflingly absent for most of the game before making a 41-yard catch down the sideline in the fourth quarter.

DeVante Parker had one catch for 9 yards. He was targeted in the end zone by Jones on the first drive but failed to attack the ball, which allowed the Dolphins to break up the pass and make the pick.

Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry had some moments, but just not enough of them.

Smith had three catches for 33 yards and looked dangerous with the ball in his hands, an improvement from last season.

Meanwhile, Henry had two catches for 20 yards. He had a big swing in the first half when he got called for a false start on third down right before making the key block on a screen pass to move the chains.

This was a weird game for the offensive line. Things looked great for the first couple of drives. Then it all fell apart -- and players started rotating in.

The Patriots seemed to ditch their zone running schemes in exchange for their classic power runs, and Harris had gained some yardage there. However, missed assignments started to pop up more and more as the offense sputtered.

The worst play of the game was Trent Brown missing Brandon Jones coming outside late as a rusher. The safety came in untouched on the strip sack on Jones.

Deatrich Wise had a strong game, looking like a menace in the passing game early on, notching a sack and some key pressures early on.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins didn’t have a lot to work with up the middle as this group clogged up the running game. The Dolphins finished with just 2.8 yards per rush.

One notable miscue: Carl Davis jumped offside on 4th-and-1 to give the Dolphins a free first down in the first half.

Ja’Whaun Bentley and Matthew Judon both recorded sacks in this one as the Patriots had some strong flashes in rushing the passes. Judon finished with a game-high four QB hits on the day (more than the whole Dolphins team got on Jones).

Kyle Dugger had a big day, flying around the field and making two big tackles for loss, as he continues to progress as a defender.

Jack Jones had his hands on a pass to Tyreek Hill but had it yanked away for a 26-yard gain as the rookie continues to show positive signs.

Tua Tagovailoa finished 23-of-33 for 270 yards, 1 TD and a 104.4 passer rating. It was a solid game for him, as he completed eight passes for 94 yards to Hill.

Hill did plenty of damage, but the secondary did a decent job overall in holding Dolphins receivers in check for most of the day.

The one exception: Jalen Mills was smoked by Jaylen Waddle on the fourth-down touchdown before halftime. Dugger collided with Bentley, resulting in a 42-yard TD that gave Miami all the momentum heading into the break.

Jake Bailey had a strong day, pinning all three of his punts inside the 20. Outside of that, though, it was a normal day at the office.

Myles Bryant handled punt return duties on the day and had a solid 12-yard return. He also got smothered by old friend Justin Bethel on his second return for no gain.

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