‘Learn from that.’ After crucial mistake in Green Bay, Malik Washington comes up big against Jets
Malik Washington didn’t have the best game against the Green Bay Packers.
Most notably, the rookie receiver muffed a punt early in the game that resulted in a Packers touchdown.
Washington, however, made up for that mistake with a crucial, 45-yard kick return against the New York Jets with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter to give the offense great field position prior to Jason Sanders’ game-tying field goal that sent the game into overtime.
“It’s one of those moments where you make a split-decision and you just take it and see what happens next,” Washington said after the Miami Dolphins’ 32-26 victory over the Jets, later adding “if you’re expecting everyone to play a perfect game, you’re going to always be disappointed. And I think you’ve got to learn from that, you’ve got to move on, you’ve have to be better the next week.”
Football teaches the importance of a short-term memory yet for many rookies, the lesson can be difficult — no pun intended — to remember. Washington appears to have learned that lesson early as he was eager to affect the game.
“I was hoping they put it in play,” Washington said. “I wanted to call my shot on that one and try to take it to see what we could get.”
Washington’s bounce-back game earned him praise from his teammates.
“He got the team going,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. “He got the crowd into it. The way he bounced back, I knew he was going to do that during the whole entire week because he’s been so locked in. Malik is that kind of player. For him to do that, I’m happy for him, and it was great, man.”
“Real big,” wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said of Washington’s return. “The good thing about [Washington] is that he’s young but he’s extremely confident in himself. That just shows you the kind of player he is and the trust he got in his ability. I’m happy for him. That was big though. We really needed it.”
With less than 60 seconds left, Washington corralled the ball at the Dolphins’ 1-yard line. He faked left and went right, leaving a defender in the dust. Washington then used his speed to avoid two diving tacklers before putting his shoulder into kicker Anders Carlson. Two Jets defenders soon surrounded Washington and tackled him on the Miami 46-yard line.
“Things like that happen,” Washington said with a slight grin. “I was hoping he’d chose something — he’d go one way or another. He didn’t so I had to run through it.”
With the ball nearly at midfield, Tua Tagovailoa just needed to complete two passes — one to Hill for 14 yards and another to Waddle for 6 yards — to get the Dolphins into field goal range. One game-tying, 52-yard field goal and overtime touchdown drive later, the Dolphins emerged victorious. The Dolphins, however, likely wouldn’t have been in that position without Washington.
“Some of the biggest plays in the game were on special teams,” coach Mike McDaniel. “Guys like Malik Washington, for instance, last week did not define him. An absolutely critical return.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 7:32 PM.
