Chris Johnson didn’t try to dress up the play or wave it away. The Dolphins rookie cornerback knows the missed sack of Drake Maye in Miami’s Week 8 loss to the New England Patriots is going to stick around, even if it didn’t end up costing his team points.
When he met with the media on Wednesday, Johnson was asked directly about the fourth-down snap that left fans and reporters shaking their heads. He said he wasn’t worried about a penalty, and he also rejected the idea that it was training camp muscle memory kicking in to avoid contact with a quarterback.
Asked if he was concerned about a flag, Johnson answered, “No.” Asked if it was training camp muscle memory to avoid hitting a QB, he said, “No.”
He also said he had watched the replay plenty of times.
“I’d make that play 10 out of 10; obviously, I didn’t,” Johnson said. “I have to move on. It is what it is.”
That’s the part that matters most for Miami: Johnson isn’t hiding from the mistake. He’s owning it, even if he doesn’t have a clean explanation for what happened in the moment. The rookie answered the questions with a smile, but there was no mistaking that he was embarrassed by the sequence.
No one outside the huddle will ever know exactly what was running through his head on that snap. Maybe he expected Maye to step up in the pocket and didn’t get the look he anticipated. What’s clear is that the Dolphins aren’t treating this as something that should define him.
Earlier in the week, Jeff Hafley was asked about the play and said he would keep that conversation between the two of them.
Now Johnson has to turn the page fast. Miami heads into Week 9 against the Lions at Hard Rock Stadium, and that’s a much bigger challenge waiting on the other side.
Detroit brings a tough, physical, high-scoring offense, with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta in the passing game, plus Jahmyr Gibbs as a dual-threat back.
This could be Johnson’s biggest test so far this season, and how he responds will matter. The good news for Miami is that the botched sack didn’t swing the scoreboard.
The defense held the Patriots in check, and New England also missed a field goal attempt. Even so, it’s the kind of miss the Dolphins can’t afford to see again.
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Dolphins Get A Chance To Change Their Season Against Detroit
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There is also a little extra edge attached to the visit. Dan Campbell is back in Miami for the first time since his interim run with the Dolphins in 2015, adding a familiar face to a game that already carries real weight for a team trying to change the tone of its season. For Miami, the challenge is obvious: turn a tough matchup into the kind of win that can shift the conversation around the rest of the year. [Read more 🡒]