Not special on this Sunday: A closer look at Dolphins’ breakdowns in kicking game
Brian Flores was right in saying that the Chiefs beat the Dolphins Sunday because they made more big plays.
But he could have been even more specific.
The Chiefs beat the Dolphins because they made the plays on special teams that the Dolphins didn’t had consistently all year, but couldn’t Sunday.
The Dolphins, who entered the game with the NFL’s No. 1 special teams unit according to Football Outsiders, made two uncharacteristic mistakes against the Chiefs:
They gave up a punt return for a touchdown and Jason Sanders missed a makeable field goal.
If both of those plays went the other way, the Dolphins probably would have knocked off the defending champs Sunday.
Sanders’ miss was a simple push from 45 yards, just his second unsuccessful attempt this year in 32 attempts. He did make kicks from 31 and 44 yards Sunday.
But that mistake was minor compared to the touchdown Danny Crossman’s group gave up to Mecole Hardman which stretched the Chiefs’ lead to 18 points early in the third quarter.
The issues on that play began with Matt Haack’s punt. It traveled just 37 yards.
Hardman fielded the punt cleanly at the 33 and immediately broke to his left.
Quickly, a wall of blockers formed. Core Dolphins special teams contributor Clayton Fejedelem got double-teamed, letting Hardman break contain to the outside. Linebacker Calvin Munson couldn’t shed a block by Darius Harris.
But ex-Dolphin Chris Lammons delivered the big, possibly illegal hit on Kamu Grugier-Hill to allow Hardman to race down the sidelines. Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Ferguson took unhelpful angles and Hardman’s 4.3 speed did the rest.
As Hardman turned for home, Lammons waved his hands like a windmill in celebration.
The return was by far the longest surrendered by the Dolphins this year and added to a Chiefs lead that proved impossible to overcome.
“I’ve got to watch the film, but just on the field, looked like Hardman made a good play,” Flores said. “He’s a good player. He’s a good punt returner. You give him a chance, and he makes people miss. That was the case on that play. It’s a good player making a good play.”
Adding to the Dolphins’ issues in the kicking game? They lost returner Jakeem Grant to a leg injury in the second half. With Grant out, Antonio Callaway handled return duties late.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 6:25 PM.
