Henne’s TD pass gives Miami a 7-0 lead over New England after 1st quarter

Henne throws TD, Dolphins lead Pats 7-0 after 1st

MIAMI — Chad Henne threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Davone Bess on Miami’s second drive, and the Dolphins held a 7-0 lead over the New England Patriots after the first quarter Monday night.

Henne’s fourth touchdown pass of the season came on a third-and-8 with 5:48 left in the opening quarter, with Bess getting around the right corner and just inside the sideline into the end zone.

Henne completed his first seven passes and was 8 for 10 in the quarter, but was intercepted by former Dolphins linebacker Rob Ninkovich late in the period. The Dolphins outgained New England 128-41 in the first 15 minutes, with nearly a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession.

Monday night’s winner will be tied with the New York Jets atop the AFC East at 3-1. Both Miami and New England have byes next weekend.

Tom Brady would be forgiven if he doesn’t spend his weekend off around South Beach.

Coming to Miami has never been an easy thing for the Patriots quarterback, who brought a 3-5 record from his past visits into Monday night’s matchup. Brady has thrown for 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the Dolphins’ home field, yet has two more losses there than he does as a visitor to New England’s two other AFC East rivals, the Jets (7-2) and Buffalo (7-1), combined.

And the first series Monday night did nothing to suggest this trip would be easy for Brady, either.

The Patriots avoided a huge blunder with 10:56 left in the opening quarter, when Wes Welker called for a fair catch at the New England 11 and ended up muffing Brandon Fields’ punt. Welker recovered the ball amid a swarm of Dolphins, but the Patriots managed only six yards on the way to a three-and-out on their first possession.

Brady went 0 for 2 on the opening drive, getting hit hard on the third-down attempt toward Welker.

Brady had the Patriots moving after the Dolphins’ first touchdown, but what would have been a 36-yard gain to tight end Aaron Hernandez — to the Miami 26 — was erased by Matt Light’s holding penalty with just under 5 minutes left in the quarter, and the Pats ended up punting again.