Early in the third quarter of last weekend’s matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans, Houston was facing a fourth down and got into punt formation. But it was all a ruse, as the Texans proceeded to execute a fake punt that resulted in a lot of gained yardage for Houston.
Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale ran for 35 yards on the play and put his team in great scoring position. Houston later scored a touchdown to finish the drive when wide receiver Nico Collins caught a pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Madness in Houston:
– direct snap fake punt
– HUGE gain
– fumble at the end
– scuffle during pile-up
– fumble REVERSED by replay
– Dolphins penalty pic.twitter.com/yiRY07vTaB— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 15, 2024
On Thursday, Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman admitted that Miami was aware of the possibility that the Texans would perform a fake punt. He also acknowledged just how important the play was to the final outcome of the contest.
Dolphins ST coach Danny Crossman says they were aware of fake punt possibility at Houston but there was fall off in execution.
“It was a big play in the game”
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) December 19, 2024
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said something similar after the loss to the Texans.
— #Dolphins HC Mike McDaniels on the #Texans fake punt
🗣️ “We were very aware pre-snap.”
Regardless, Texans tricked the Dolphins and CBS’s camera man pic.twitter.com/lqkfPsI4L0
— sidelinesarah (@sidelinesarah) December 16, 2024
Houston’s touchdown on that drive made it a two-score game, and Miami was unable to catch up to the Texans the rest of the way. The Dolphins ended the contest with 12 points in what was maybe the team’s worst offensive showing ever since quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made his return to the field against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 27.
After all, prior to the Texans game, Miami hadn’t finished a game with 12 or fewer points since Tagovailoa was sidelined earlier this season while recovering from a concussion.
The Dolphins’ loss to the Texans damaged Miami’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs even further. With just three games remaining on their regular-season schedule, the Dolphins are two wins below the .500 mark at 6-8, and the best record they can possibly finish with is 9-8. They’ve put themselves in a bad spot down the stretch of the season.
For as much as Miami’s special teams looked unprepared for the possibility of the Texans pulling off a fake punt, if the Dolphins’ offense had just played at the level it typically has with Tagovailoa on the field this season, maybe Houston’s score on that drive wouldn’t have proven to be so significant.
