DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams step up with A.J. Brown absent vs. Dolphins

Mack Hollins has been on injured reserve since Week 5. Romeo Doubs joined him after Week 6. A.J. Brown spent Weeks 2-5 on IR before rejoining the team in Week 6, only to miss Sunday's Week 8 game due to ankle and knee issues.

What was supposed to be the deepest position on the Patriots' roster was very much a question mark, even against a bottom-of-the-league opponent like the Dolphins on Sunday. And through the first half, Drake Maye had completed just two passes to a wide receiver. Both of them went to Efton Chism, and one ended with a fumble.

The lack of wide receiver production and the 13-3 deficit to the 1-5 Dolphins were painting a pretty bleak picture in Miami. But then, the game flipped in the second half, with the depth contributors of the Patriots' receiving corps being one of the main driving forces.

Kyle Williams

Given his lack of production this season (6 receptions, 147 yards entering Sunday), one might wonder if second-year wideout Kyle Williams might be suffering through a spell of a lack of confidence. Speaking after the 24-19 win, though, he sure didn't sound like it.

"Oh, honestly," Williams said when describing his third-quarter touchdown, "when he called it, I knew it was going to be a touchdown."

That confidence was proven to be correct, as Williams burned past safety Michael Taaffe, hauled in Maye's deep pass at the 5-yard line, and crossed the goal line in stride.

The nearest official had no idea what happened, initially throwing a beanbag to indicate a fumble (in the end zone) before being convinced by the back judge that the pass was somehow incomplete. Yet Mike Vrabel aggressively challenged the call directly in the face of the official ...

... and the obvious touchdown was properly put on the board, giving the Patriots a much-needed jolt of life and belief after a dreary 35 minutes to begin the game.

"We always say it takes one play, and that was the one play," Williams said. "That was the one play we needed to shift gears and change momentum."

Indeed, the 43-yard touchdown reception was Williams' lone target of the game, but its impact was immense.

DeMario Douglas

Pop Douglas entered the game as the most experienced member of the Patriots' active receiving corps, but he wasn't involved until midway through the third quarter.

On that play, Maye picked up a fumbled snap and found Douglas for a 26-yard gain.

Later on that same drive, facing a fourth-and-2, Maye threw to Douglas in the right flat. Much like with Williams' game-changing play, Douglas did not get the benefit of the official's doubt, as he was initially ruled to have been inches shy of the line to gain.

But the automatic review that was triggered by the turnover on downs led to the call being overturned, keeping the drive alive. Maye ran it in from the 2-yard line six plays later to give New England a 17-13 lead -- its first lead since 3-0.

The fourth-down conversion wouldn't be Douglas' final impact play, as he delivered the knockout blow. Just two plays after Kevin Byard intercepted Malik Willis, Maye escaped the free rush of Chop Robinson while rolling right before connecting with Douglas up the right sideline.

And unlike the play that led to his fumble against the Jets, Douglas did not hesitate, cutting inside and eventually juking the safety en route to setting a new career high with his fourth touchdown reception of the season.

"Yeah, after that fumble, I just told myself stop doing too much," Douglas explained. "You know, I just gotta believe in my speed. You know, sometimes I'll be like, 'Ah, I think he's gonna catch me.' And then today I was like, I just -- I gotta go. I gotta go and do something, I gotta make a play. It's a tight game. I can bring that energy, and it happened. Blessings."

Maye was a perfect 3-for-3 for 76 yards and the score when targeting Douglas, who pointed out how he and his teammates were ready for that moment.

"We've been preaching opportunity," Douglas said. "I think our coaches do a great job of having everybody prepare as a starter. And when somebody gets hurt, it's somebody that steps up and knows what they're doing. So I applaud this team how hard we work and how prepared we are."

Efton Chism

Had Chism's lack of ball security come on a day when the Patriots had their full complement of receivers available, then perhaps he wouldn't have had many opportunities for the rest of the game. But with only the largely unknown Ryan Miller on the sidelines, this wasn't the day for Mike Vrabel to try to teach Chism any lessons.

And for his part, Chism made it worthwhile.

Chism made a catch while getting ragdolled over the middle for a 12-yard gain to convert a fourth-and-2 in the second quarter, though that drive ended with a missed Andy Borregales field goal.

On the drive that involved the Douglas fourth-down conversion and ended with Maye's TD run, Chism caught three passes for 21 yards.

It wasn't quite as impactful as the explosive touchdowns from Williams and Douglas, but Chism's effort rounded out a day when -- despite being without the top three receivers on the depth chart -- Maye was a perfect 9-for-9 for 156 yards and two touchdowns when targeting his wide receivers.

Hollins is eligible to return from IR next week, when the Patriots host the Packers. Brown could -- and probably should -- be healthy enough to play, too. Doubs' eligibility to return won't begin until after the Week 11 bye.

And while the Patriots will no doubt need all of them to get to a double-digit win total and vie for a playoff spot and a division crown, Sunday's comeback win in Miami showed that the depth in the receiver room is very real.