A look at snaps played by Patriots defenders in the team’s 22-21 loss to the Dolphins, while looking for trends (as charted in the press box, small margin for error):

ILB Jerod Mayo -- 81 of 81 snaps
S Brandon Meriweather -- 81 of 81
DL Jarvis Green -- 78 of 81
OLB Tully Banta-Cain -- 69 of 81
CB Leigh Bodden -- 69 of 81
CB Darius Butler -- 66 of 81
ILB Gary Guyton -- 61 of 81
DL Vince Wilfork -- 55 of 81
CB Jonathan Wilhite -- 50 of 81
DE Derrick Burgess -- 44 of 81
OLB Adalius Thomas -- 43 of 81
S Brandon McGowan -- 42 of 81
S Pat Chung -- 40 of 81
DE Ty Warren -- 38 of 81
DL Mike Wright -- 31 of 81
ILB Junior Seau -- 18 of 81
DL Myron Pryor -- 9 of 81
S James Sanders -- 7 of 81
OLB Pierre Woods -- 6 of 81
OLB Rob Ninkovich -- 3 of 81

(Snaps include a defensive pass interference penalty and two-point conversion.)

ANALYSIS: The 81 defensive snaps were a season high. The prior high was 77 (vs. Denver) … McGowan saw his playing time reduced, as he wasn’t regularly part of sub packages, which might reflect some struggles he’s recently had in pass coverage … After a down effort against the Saints, Wilhite was the third corner and played in the slot, with Butler starting in his place ... Green’s season-high playing time was a result of playing right defensive end in base packages and reducing inside to rush in passing situations in the team’s 4-2-5 nickel or 4-1-6 dime. This was the type of game where the Patriots were hoping Green (no sacks on the season) could find some of his old pass-rush explosion but it didn’t happen consistently … The pass rush remains an issue, as Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne dropped back to pass 53 times and was only hit twice … After he did not play in the previous three games, Seau spelled Guyton in the base 3-4 defense at different times of the game … Wilfork played nose tackle and end, once again showing impressive versatility while staying on the field for more third downs than has been the norm.