FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – If it weren’t for the toe-heel rule, the New England Patriots might have gotten their second win of the season on Sunday.

Instead, they lost 15-10 to the visiting Miami Dolphins after rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk’s 12-yard touchdown catch with 1:08 remaining was overturned on an immediate replay review.

Polk leapt into the air under the goalposts to receive a pass from quarterback Jacoby Brissett, his momentum carrying him to the end line. Polk’s left foot landed in the end zone, as did his right toe, but his right heel landed out of bounds.

“The rule that was enforced was the ‘toe-heel’ rule,” NFL vice president of officiating George Stewart said in a pool report. “What happened was he had one foot down in the court, and as he completed the second step he had his toe in the court, but his heel landed on the white line outside the court. So, he had to the end of the catch not even two feet inside the boundaries.”

When asked what elements of the play were crucial in overturning the original decision, Stewart said: “He didn’t have two feet in the court. It was a toe-heel. It was no interference. It was a toe-heel .that made this an incomplete pass.”

Patriots first-year coach Jerod Mayo agreed with the officials.

“It was close, but in my opinion it was the right decision,” Mayo said.

The Patriots had two more plays after the overturned decision to potentially score. After the defense stopped the Dolphins from giving the Patriots the ball back at their own 43-yard line with 29 seconds left and no timeouts, a last-ditch drive ended at the Dolphins’ 11-yard line.

Polk, a second-round pick out of Washington, lamented that the Patriots found themselves in that position because the offense was stagnant for long stretches and the team totaled 12 penalties for 104 yards.

Brissett, who finished 18 of 34 for 160 yards, didn’t reach 100 yards until the fourth quarter.

The Patriots have lost four straight games since opening the season with a 16-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Mayo said last week that even in the Week 1 win over the Bengals the lack of offensive firepower was “untenable,” raising questions about how close he might be to turning to starting quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick overall pick against the Bengals. the design.

The Patriots, who average 12.4 points per game, have had instability along the offensive line, starting five different combinations in the first five games. Their receiving corps also entered Sunday with the fewest receptions and yards of any team in the NFL.

Specific to whether a quarterback switch would make a difference, Mayo dodged a question after Sunday’s loss about how much separation there is between Brissett and Maye.

“I don’t want to get involved in the divorce conversation,” Mayo said. “I will say Jacoby is trying to do what we’ve asked him to do from the beginning. He’s taking some big hits and his toughness continues to shine through. The execution of the entire offense has to be better going forward.”