What went wrong for Dolphins on Patriots' fake punt — and who took the blame

It was simultaneously a stroke of coaching genius and the ultimate sign of disrespect.

Bill Belichick’s decision to dial up a fake punt on fourth-and-8 — on the game’s opening drive, on his own 27 — was remarkable.

And it worked. Nate Ebner took the direct snap, went around the right edge and rushed for 14 yards. What should have been a three-and-out for the Dolphins’ defense ultimately turned into a touchdown and a lead which the Patriots would not relinquish.

Michael Thomas, the Dolphins’ special teams captain, is a stand-up guy who did a characteristically stand-up thing after the game.

“Pretty much, that's on me,” Thomas said. “Regardless of the time situation, whatever, I was the edge of the defense, the edge of the special teams right there, so I've got to set the edge. I can't let nothing get outside me. You can put that one on me. That can't happen. Defense, they got three-and-out. We can't put our defense back on the field right there.”

Did the Patriots show anything pre-snap that, in retrospect, should have alerted the Dolphins that something was up? Yes.

“Pretty much just a left-footed punter,” Thomas said. “[Ebner] usually doesn't line up to our left, their right, and he did. So that should have been the tip right there.”

Belichick, in typically understated fashion, said after the game: “It was a big play for us.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 6:47 PM with the headline "What went wrong for Dolphins on Patriots' fake punt — and who took the blame."