Drops, slips and costly plays: Preston Williams’ 2nd season is off to a nightmare start
Brian Flores didn’t have much hesitation about his decision when the Miami Dolphins faced fourth-and-goal from the Buffalo Bills’ 1-yard line in the third quarter Sunday. The Dolphins were down by four and momentum had swung in their favor in the second half. After trailing by seven at halftime, they had to chance to score 10 straight points and steal the lead from the Bills with a touchdown, so he had his team go for it.
Miami did the same sort of thing it did to succeed all throughout the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. Ryan Fitzpatrick faked a handoff to his running back and one of his receivers ran a slant. Preston Williams got open, he just dropped Fitzpatrick’s pass.
“We want to be aggressive. There’s a lot that goes into that, but I have confidence in our offense to pick up the one yard,” coach Brian Flores said. “We had a good play on. We just didn’t execute.”
In the end, the decision and drop loomed large. The Dolphins lost 31-28. A field goal there could’ve potentially forced the game to go into overtime. Williams’ drop could’ve been the difference between a loss and a win in Miami Gardens.
Williams, who looked like one of the most promising young pieces on the Dolphins’ roster early last season, has followed up an encouraging rookie season with a nightmare start to his sophomore campaign.
On Sunday, Fitzpatrick targeted the wide receiver five times and he caught just one pass for 26 yards with the back-breaking drop. In Miami’s season-opening loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday, Fitzpatrick targeted him seven times and Williams caught two passes for 46 yards, but also fell down on a route, leading to an interception.
With two losses by a total margin of 13 points, those mistakes have been costly for the Dolphins.
“He’s a guy that we’re going to have to rely on to make some big plays, along with some of those other guys on our offense, and he knows that,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s made plenty in the past and I know he’s got a bright future in making a lot of them for us this year.”
This time last year, Williams was one of the most surprising stories in the NFL. Undrafted in 2019, he caught on with Miami in the preseason and became an unlikely starter, catching 32 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns in eight games as a rookie before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
His offseason rehab went well and he was ready to go for Week 1. A sophomore slump has instead come in the form of mistakes quickly piling up.
Last week, Williams was running a crossing route early in the second quarter and Fitzpatrick tried to find him running toward the right sideline, but the 23-year-old fell down as the quarterback released the ball and star cornerback Stephon Gilmore picked off Fitzpatrick.
On Sunday, he left six or seven points on the board. Fitzpatrick feigned a handoff and looked to his left, firing a quick pass to Williams. It hit Williams in the hands and chest before it bounced to the ground, and Miami (0-2) committed a turnover on downs.
Even if he didn’t explicitly cost Miami a win against the Bills (2-0) on Sunday, Williams is still nowhere near the player the Dolphins were used to having in 2019.
“We’re going to rely on him to make a lot of big plays there, so that was just one opportunity, one moment,” Fitzpatrick said. “The ball’s going to come back to him.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 7:20 PM.
