Did the Miami Dolphins pull off the greatest trick in NFL history?
If this is not the best touchdown in NFL history, it is at least the most pleasing:
I mean, come on now. What even is that? What that is in fact, is the Dolphins punter tossing a pass to the team’s kicker for a touchdown during Miami’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Dolphins lined up in a slight variation of an unorthodox high-school and college-football play, known as the swinging gate. It’s typically used on point-after attempts, when a team puts two stacks of players on opposite sides of the field. The kicker stands in as quarterback, and if a receiver is uncovered outside, the quarterback/kicker flips the ball to him. If not, all those receivers and linemen return to the middle of the field and set up for a kick.
And that’s what the Philadelphia Eagles were expecting on Sunday. But the Dolphins had other ideas. Instead, they used one of the smallest, least athletic players on their team as red meat – in this case, the punter – drawing out four defenders, while sneaking another small, unathletic player – in this case, kicker Jason Myers – into the end zone. The result? A touchdown that immediately entered the pantheon of top trick plays.
Miami’s score is so wonderful, though, because it is unique. Usually trick plays in the NFL, like the infamous “Philly Special” from Super Bowl LII, are ones that have been run at lower levels of the sport forever. They just take on more prominence when someone has the guts to make the same call in the big leagues. But the Dolphins touchdown is all their own. Although the swinging gate is used at lower levels, it’s never been used before in this way in the pros.
Miami were built to lose this year, in the hopes of grabbing a franchise changing player (or players) in next year’s draft. But Tankapalooza has been dealt a serious blow by the fact that they have a talented, creative coaching staff. Headed by Brian Flores and a stack of characters who used to work for the Bill Belichick brains trust in New England, the Dolphins staff have now cobbled together three wins – which is three more than many thought they would win all season. Flores has proved he has the right temperament for the job, and his tactical nous has never been in doubt.
Winning the coach of the year award would be a step too far. What
John Harbaugh has done in Baltimore will likely earn him the nod, and voters are unlikely to reward the Dolphins organization for attempting to punt on a season. But no other staff has had to deal with the same kind of restraints or public mockery as Miami’s. Flores is at least worthy of some consideration.
Quote of the week
“Free Pouncey” – a slogan on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pre-game hoodies.
The Steelers responded to Freddie Kitchens’ mid-week t-shirt snafu by donning some combative fashion designs of their own before their game against the Browns. And it was Pittsburgh who got the last laugh: the Steelers beat the most hyped Browns roster of the past decade despite playing with their third-string quarterback. Some organizations just stay lousy, regardless of the talent on the field.
Video of the week
Lamar Jackson continues to dazzle on his way to a likely MVP nod. He was sensational in the first half against a frisky San Francisco defense on Sunday, before the 49ers figured some things out in the second half. If Sunday served as a Super Bowl preview, we are in for something special come February.
MVP of the week
Justin Tucker, kicker, Ravens Big truss. There is nobody in football as reliable as Tucker. With time dwindling in a tied, rain soaked Niners-Ravens game, John Harbaugh went against conventional wisdom. Rather than run an extra play in a bid to move the ball further down the field and make a gamewinning field goal easier, Harbaugh let the clock tick down. He knew it didn’t matter. Tucker is money in the rain, sleet, snow or whatever concoction of all three was falling in Baltimore on Sunday. Tucker nailed the 49-yard field goal to give the Ravens the win and solidify their status as Super Bowl favorites. How good is Tucker? His fieldgoal was his 38th-straight successful attempt in the fourth quarter of games in his career.
Stat of the week
Derrick Henry has become the most consistent running back in the league.
In his last 16 games, he’s rushed for 1,725 yards and 20 touchdowns, the first player to hit those marks since 2009. His Tennessee Titans are one of the NFL’s sneaky good teams. They run the ball well, are getting excellent production out of Ryan Tannehill, and do a great job of getting off the field on third down on defense.
Elsewhere around the league
- Tom Brady had a bad game on Sunday, as his team went down 28-22 to the Houston Texans. Much of the blame for the Patriots’ offensive struggles this season has landed at the feet of the offensive line and the inability of the team’s receivers to create separation. But that wasn’t the case against Houston, when Brady missed a lot of easy throws.Opposing defenses have blitzed him relentlessly, and he’s caved, something that would have been unthinkable against the Brady of old, when being a one-man blitz-beater was his calling card. It’s not quite time for the end-of-dynasty talk yet, but it’s time to recognize the steady decline in Brady’s performance over the past 18 months.
- Adam Vinatieri is a legend, but his late-career decline from pretty good to flat-out untrustworthy has cost the Colts a playoff spot this season. He had two field goals blocked on Sunday, the latest rough outing in a rough season. It’s a shame that the 46-yearold’s career is ending this way, but it’s as much on the Colts’ front office, who should have moved on from Vinatieri much earlier in the season, as on the player himself.
- Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has now started 11 games in his rookie season. In that span, he has thrown 11 interceptions and fumbled the ball 15 times, turning it over 21 times. Yikes.
- The Jaguars benched Nick Foles in favor of Gardner Minshew after Foles had an awful first half against the Buccaneers. “I wanted to get a spark,” coach Doug Marrone said. “It was kind of dead, and I wanted to get things going and made the switch at quarterback.” That’s not what you want to hear about a guy to whom you’ve committed $50m.
- According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, general managers around the league are going back into their predraft reports to see which scouts said Lamar Jackson shouldn’t have been a quarterback.
- With Andy Dalton reinserted into the line-up, the Bengals got their first win of the season, beating the Jets 22-6.