Wave after wave, the New England Patriots drowned Miami Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore with a storm of pass rushers Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

Based on the Pats’ performance a week earlier against the Raiders, they were ready to break the dam, and that’s how it went down during their 35-17 victory. That trend might now suggest the Patriots could be on their way toward fielding a more relentless pass rush, but that’s also dependent on the health of their two most vital quarterback-seekers.

Defensive end Trey Flowers had his best game of the season against the Dolphins with two sacks, a forced fumble, two pressures and two tackles for no gain or a loss, but suffered a rib injury that has a chance to impact his availability against the Buffalo Bills this week, according to a source.

Flowers didn’t break any ribs, but it’s a week-to-week injury that could come down to pain tolerance. He certainly has a chance to play, though it’s too early to know for sure.

The Patriots’ entire pass rush revolves around Flowers, who leads the team in sacks (6.0), quarterback hits (15), pressures (15) and total disruptions (36). He’s a sack short of matching his career high, and already has more disruptions (sacks, hits and pressures) than any Patriot in 2016, including the playoffs.

Against the Dolphins, Flowers beat a double team for a third-down pressure on a Moore incompletion, and beat another double team for his second-quarter sack that preceded Stephon Gilmore’s interception.

Linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who had a sack, two quarterback hits and a run stuff against the Dolphins, departed with an injured calf. It’s too early to know if he’ll play Sunday, but his injury isn’t expected to cost him more than a game, according to a source.

Flowers is second on the Patriots with 5.0 sacks, third behind Deatrich Wise with three quarterback hits, eight pressures and 16 disruptions, and leads the way with five run stuffs. Van Noy has been a consistent disrupter over the past two games, as increased opportunities on the defensive edge have yielded more downhill results. And interestingly, after Flowers went down, Van Noy registered his sack from an interior rushing position, which was similar to the way the Pats sometimes use their best rusher, whether it’s Flowers now or Chandler Jones in the past.

The Patriots haven’t deployed a consistent pass rush this season, but they were moving in this direction. They had one sack, four quarterback hits and a season-high nine pressures (14 disruptions) in Week 11 against the Raiders. On Sunday they totaled seven sacks – the seventh time Coach Bill Belichick’s Patriots have hit that number – three quarterback hits and five pressures (15 disruptions), so they converted some of those hits and pressures into takedowns.

Oddly enough, this two-game surge occurred on the heels of a three-game slump when they had two sacks, eight quarterback hits and 12 pressures (22 disruptions). It was their only stretch this season when they went consecutive games with single-digit disruptions, and it happened against pocket passers Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers and Brock Osweiler.

Another positive: Raiders quarterback Derek Carr plays behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and the Dolphins had allowed only 18 sacks in their first 10 games, which had been the ninth-best mark in the league. The Patriots shredded good lines to harass pocket passers like the ones who had been eluding them in recent weeks. But they’ll meet a different challenge Sunday with slippery Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

While Flowers can cause chaos on any play, most of the pressure against the Dolphins was a matter of scheme and execution. Cornerback Jonathan Jones had a sack on a backside blitz, and linebacker Elandon Roberts had two sacks on two types of blitzes. He was on the line of scrimmage for his first takedown and had a well-timed delayed blitz for his second. And defensive end Eric Lee worked behind defensive tackle Adam Butler on a perfect inside stunt for his first career sack in his Patriots debut. It was a perfect example of how most sacks require assistance from others.

The Pats had seven sacks in their previous five games, so don’t expect them to morph into a pass-rushing juggernaut after this performance, especially while Flowers and Van Noy are nicked up. But as they play better team defense, led by turnarounds from cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler, increased pressure should be a byproduct.

At least that’s been the case for the past two weeks.