The New England Patriots bounced back from a lackluster opening day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders to beat the Miami Dolphins 33-27 on Sunday afternoon in Florida.

Sure, it was not pretty and required all 60 minutes for the Pats to earn the win. The Dolphins have been reeling this season and appear to be a team on the brink of destruction between poor results on the field and infighting off the field. Many pundits have been doing the whole “Yeah, but” game as we digest the Pats’ first win of the season.

My biggest takeaway? This win was huge for the program in that it taught the players how to win. It was not a blowout. It was a seesaw battle in which each team traded blows. It took mental toughness and some clutch in order for the Pats to earn the W, which is something this team has lacked for several seasons.

Again, you have to take things with a grain of salt. It was only the second game of the year, the Dolphins stink, and the Pats certainly did not look like a sharp team. They played sloppy for much of that game and won by the skin of their teeth.

However, this is a team that needed a fight. An ugly win like this will be far more beneficial than a lopsided victory. If the Pats were a Super Bowl contender then yes, this win would be disappointing, but considering this is a team in a full-blown rebuild, the result was promising for both the short and long term.

Which brings me to our high school teams.

A team that I was impressed with last week was Cranston West, who fell to North Kingstown 21-7. It was a tight game for the most part and the Falcons went toe to toe with the Skippers, who some believe will be in the mix for a state title.

West has a talented roster but a lot of new pieces in play this fall, including a sophomore quarterback in Jonathan Leroux who made his regular season debut last Friday. West did not look like a rebuilding team that was overwhelmed, it looked like a unit that was ready to compete with anyone it faces and just needs a little more time to put it all together.

I am usually not one to celebrate moral victories, but this is an exception. Other than La Salle on Halloween, last week’s game should be West’s toughest on paper this season. The Falcons are already playing competitive football against elite teams, while maintaining room to improve and grow. 

These early season games are all about gathering data when you have a roster in transition, and I believe that this loss will help the new guys learn how to win. If the team was just a step behind NK in week one, think about how dangerous it will be later this fall when it starts climbing toward its ceiling. West is officially in dark horse territory in Division I, a bounce or two here and there could have produced a Falcon upset last week.

Another one of our teams that is learning how to win is Toll Gate in Division IV.

The Titans, as we know, have been rebuilding their program for the last few years. Toll Gate got a win last year over Hope which was the first victory that many of the players experienced. The team lost to Juanita Sanchez on Saturday as it fell victim to a late comeback. Toll Gate controlled most of the game but just could not hold onto the 8-6 lead as Juanita Sanchez got the game-winning score late in the fourth.

The Titans were a play or two away from getting the opening day win and I believe that they will make the adjustments to not allow another close one slip through their fingers. This wasn’t an implosion and they weren’t just lucky to have held on for as long as they did. Toll Gate is improving and just needs to experience dog fights like last weekend to be complete. Last weekend’s loss to Juanita Sanchez made Toll Gate better, no doubt. 

For both the Falcons and Titans, I believe we are about to see them take two steps forward after taking one step back.