MIAMI -- After they heard questions all week about the Wildcat, the package that had burned them the first time these teams met, the Patriots’ defensive players showed that they weren’t getting beaten by it again.

Miami ran the Wildacat – a direct snap to running back Ronnie Brown – nine times, totaling just 26 yards. The longest gain was nine yards, in the first quarter, and it wasn’t attempted in the fourth.

“We did a lot better than the first time,” Bill Belichick understated. “I think we tackled better, and we hadn’t worked on it (before) the first game. We’ve seen it from other teams, but not really their version. I think our ability to have a chance to prepare for it, and see some of the things they’ve run in other games…when we got to the sideline we could talk a lot more about it. But it’s still hard to stop.”

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After being promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Saturday when New England placed Eric Alexander on injured reserve, Vince Redd got to see time on both special teams and with the defense on Sunday. The rookie outside linebacker was on the field with the defense at the end of the game.

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The Patriots had another wrinkle on defense, as corner Lewis Sanders, playing in his first game since Oct. 20 against Denver because of a hamstring injury, lined up at safety at times.

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Corner Jason Webster, tackle Wesley Britt, guard Billy Yates and tight end Tyson DeVree were among New England’s inactives; all were healthy scratches, joining running back LaMont Jordan (calf), linebacker Adalius Thomas (broken right arm) and corner Mike Richardson (concussion), who had been scratched before the day.

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Kevin Faulk’s 21-yard scoring run was the longest Patriots touchdown run since Laurence Maroney had a 59-yard scoring run against Miami on Dec. 23, 2007. The 21-yard scamper was Faulk’s longest rush since Oct. 12, 2003, when he had a 23-yard rush against the New York Giants.

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Wes Welker’s 64-yard pass reception from Matt Cassel, which set up Faulk’s touchdown, was the longest run and catch of Welker’s career. His previous high, 47 yards, had been set against the Patriots while he was playing for the Dolphins in 2005.

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Jabar Gaffney has the majority of his season’s production over the last two games. He has 28 grabs for 328 yards total, with 12 receptions and 174 of those yards coming against the Jets and Dolphins.

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Randy Moss had three touchdown catches, the fifth time in his career he has caught three or more TD passes in a game. Moss’ three scoring catches tie the second highest single-game total in team history, trailing only his four touchdown catches against Buffalo last Nov. 18. His career total of 31 games with two or more scoring grabs trails only Jerry Rice’s NFL record of 43 such games. And he had had 125 yards on eight catches, the 59th 100-yard receiving game of his career. Only Rice, with 76, has more.

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Mike Vrabel’s sack was his first since the opening game of the year.

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The following items are courtesy of the Patriots' P.R. department:

The Patriots totaled 530 net yards of offense in their 48-28 win over Miami, recording the second highest offensive yardage output in team history and the most since gaining a team-record 597 total net yards against the New York Jets on Sept. 9, 1979.

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The Patriots bounced back from last week's loss to the Jets defeat the Dolphins, improving their record following losses to 17-1 (.944) since the beginning of the 2003 season. Over the last five-plus seasons (2003-08), the Patriots have only lost back-to-back games on one occasion (Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, 2006).

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Matt Cassel threw for 415 yards today, marking the fifth time in NFL history a quarterback has totaled 400 or more passing yards in back-to-back games. Cassel threw for 400 yards against the New York Jets on Nov. 13. Cassel is the first player to achieve the feat since Tennessee's Billy Volek did it in 2004 (426 yards on 12/13/04 and 492 yards on 12/19/04). In addition to Volek, the other NFL passers to have achieved the feat are San Diego's Dan Fouts in 1982 (444 yards on 12/11/82 and 435 yards on 12/20/82), Miami's Dan Marino in 1984 (470 yards on 12/2/84 and 404 yards on 12/9/84) and the New York Giants' Phil Simms in 1985 (432 yards on 10/6/85 and 513 yards on 10/13/85).

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Matt Cassel joined Drew Bledsoe as the only Patriots quarterbacks to pass for 400 yards or more in two or more games. Cassel has two career 400-yard passing games (last week against the Jets and today against the Dolphins). Bledsoe had four 400-yard passing games with the Patriots (two in 1994, one in 1996 and one in 1998). The other Patriots players to achieve the feat are Tom Brady (1), Tony Eason (1), Steve Grogan (1) and Tom Ramsey (1).

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Matt Cassel's 415 passing yards against the Dolphins today are the fifth-highest single-game total in team history, trailing only four performances by Drew Bledsoe. Cassel's 415 yards trail only Bledsoe's franchise-record 426 passing yards against Minnesota on Nov. 13, 1994, in addition to Bledsoe's totals of 423 yards (11/23/98), 421 yards (9/4/94) and 419 yards (11/3/96). Cassel's 415 passing yards against the Dolphins are the most for a Patriots player in exactly 10 years, dating back to Bledsoe's 423 yard performance against the Dolphins at Foxboro Stadium on Nov. 23, 1998.

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On his second reception of the day - a 6-yard catch on the Patriots' opening drive - Kevin Faulk joined an exclusive club of players who have totaled at least 2,000 rushing yards and at least 3,000 receiving yards this decade. Following that catch, Faulk had totaled 2,717 rushing yards and 3,004 receiving yards since 2000. The only other NFL players to have at least 2,000 rushing yards and at least 3,000 receiving yards in the 2000s are Tiki Barber, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook and Michael Pittman.

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Kevin Faulk had a 21-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter to give the Patriots a 31-21 lead. Faulk totaled 105 yards from scrimmage in the game (53 rushing, 52 receiving). The score was Faulk's third rushing touchdown of the season (he had two against San Francisco on Oct. 5). Faulk also has a touchdown reception this year, bringing his total to four touchdowns this year. Faulk's 21-yard scoring run was the longest Patriots touchdown run since Laurence Maroney had a 59-yard scoring run against Miami on Dec. 23, 2007. The 21-yard scamper was Faulk's longest rush since Oct. 12, 2003, when he had a 23-yard rush against the New York Giants.

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BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. His five rushing scores lead the team (Sammy Morris, 4). Green-Ellis has had a rushing touchdown in five of the last six games. He has played in seven contests since being signed from the practice squad on Oct. 11.

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Wes Welker caught a 64-yard pass from Matt Cassel in the third quarter that was the key play on a drive that ended in a 21-yard touchdown run by Kevin Faulk and a 31-21 Patriots lead. The 64-yard reception was the longest of Welker's career, topping a 47-yard catch on Nov. 13, 2005, while playing for the Miami Dolphins against the Patriots at Dolphin Stadium.

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Wes Welker totaled 120 yards on eight receptions, setting a season-high for receiving yards and marking his third consecutive game with 100 or more receiving yards. Welker had totaled four 100-yard receiving games in 71 career games prior to his current streak of three straight 100-yard games. Welker now has a total of seven career 100-yard receiving games - four in 2007 and three so far in 2008. The Patriots record for most consecutive 100-yard receiving games is four, achieved by Randy Moss in 2007 and Stanley Morgan from 1985-86.

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Matt Cassel scored on an 8-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to give the Patriots a 10-7 lead. The scoring run was Cassel's second of the season and was the third of his career. His other touchdown this season came on a 13-yard scoring run against Buffalo on Nov. 9. Entering today's game, Cassel had 185 rushing yards on 51 carries this season, marking the highest single-season rushing total by a Patriots quarterback since 1979, when Steve Grogan had 368 yards on 64 carries. On Nov. 13 against the New York Jets, Cassel had 62 rushing yards on eight carries, marking the highest single-game rushing total by a Patriots quarterback in 30 years.

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Brandon Meriweather intercepted a Chad Pennington pass in the fourth quarter, snaring his team-leading fourth interception of the season. Deltha O'Neal ranks second on the team with three interceptions. Meriweather's interception was also the fourth of his career since being selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

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The Patriots scored first in today's game and have now won 23 straight games when scoring first. The Patriots scored first against the Dolphins today on a 30-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski giving New England a 3-0 first-quarter lead. The last time New England lost a game in which it scored first was on Nov. 12, 2006 against the New York Jets.

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Stephen Gostkowski boomed a second-quarter kickoff out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. The touchback was his career-best 16th of the season, topping his previous career high of 15 touchbacks, set in 2007. Gostkowski's 15 touchbacks entering today's game ranked third in the NFL behind Carolina's Rhys Lloyd (19) and Denver's Matt Prater (17). According to STATS LLC, Gostkowski's 16 touchbacks this season are the most by a Patriots player since their single-season touchbacks records begin in 1991.

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The Patriots led 17-14 at halftime of today's game and have now won 39 consecutive regular-season games when leading at halftime, setting a post-merger NFL record (1970-present). New England has not lost when holding a halftime lead since a Dec. 20, 2004 game at Miami. The Patriots have won 69 of their last 70 games when leading at halftime, a streak that dates back to October 2001.

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Richard Seymour sacked Chad Pennington for a 4-yard loss on third down in the third quarter. The sack was Seymour's team-high seventh of the season. His single-season career-high is 8.0 sacks, recorded in 2003.

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Rookie linebacker Vince Redd made his NFL debut today, seeing his first career game action on a first-quarter punt return. Redd was signed to the Patriots' active roster from their practice squad on Saturday, Nov. 22.

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The Patriots lost the opening coin toss today and won a game for the first time this season when losing the coin toss. New England entered this week's game with an 0-4 record this season when losing the coin toss and a 6-0 record when winning the coin toss.

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Stephen Gostkowski hit both of his field goal tries, nailing a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead and a another 30-yarder in the fourth quarter to put the Patriots up 41-28. Gostkowski improved to 26-for-28 (92.9 percent) for the season. His 26 field goals are the highest single-season total of Gostkowski's three-year career, topping his 21 successful field goals in 2007 (21-for-24, 87.5 percent). His 26 field goals this season are the most for a Patriots kicker since Adam Vinatieri made 31 field goals in 2004. Gostkowski was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October, 2008. He is the Patriots' all-time leader in field goal percentage, having converted 85.9 percent of his kicks (67-for-78) since being selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

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Wes Welker had eight receptions for 120 yards, extending his NFL record for most consecutive games with six or more receptions to begin a season. Welker has had at least six catches in each of New England's 11 games this year, topping the previous mark of eight straight games with six or more catches to begin the season (Jimmy Smith, 2001). Dating back to last season, Welker has had six or more receptions in 12 straight regular-season games and 15 straight games including playoffs. The NFL record for more regular-season games with six or more catches is 16, achieved by Marvin Harrison from 2002-03.