Miami’s loss to New England had plenty of rough moments, but one second-quarter snap stood out above the rest. With the Dolphins clinging to a 10-point lead at halftime, Chris Johnson had a clean path to Drake Maye on a fourth-and-three and still came away empty-handed, a missed sack that left everyone staring at the replay in disbelief.
On Monday, Jeff Hafley was asked about the play, and he kept his answer short. “I’ll just keep the conversation with Chris on that one,” Hafley said.
Hafley made it clear he wasn’t going to pile on his rookie. He said Johnson handled the rest of the game well and insisted the defender will be fine moving forward.
“He knows he is capable of making those plays. It was a one-time thing, and he will make the play the next time.”
The blunder was ugly, but it didn’t directly cost Miami on the scoreboard. Maye still completed a pass to move the chains, and the Patriots eventually settled for a field goal three plays later, one they missed. Even so, the sequence was the kind of missed opportunity that lingers because Johnson had nobody around him once he turned the corner.
It also fit a frustrating pattern for Miami, which has spent much of the season hurting itself. The Dolphins had already given away momentum earlier with Ollie Gordon’s 6-yard run that ended in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and Johnson’s miss only added to the list of self-inflicted mistakes.
Hafley’s message, at least publicly, was to move on. That’s the approach Johnson will need too, especially with a brutal stretch ahead.
Miami has the Lions coming to town in Week 9 and the Bills in Week 11, with a trip to Indianapolis in between as the better chance to grab a second win. The Dolphins are 7-point underdogs against Detroit, and Johnson will be under the spotlight again against a Lions offense that can score in bunches through the air and on the ground.
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