Dolphins off to bad start with botched kick return

The Miami Dolphins started one of their offensive drives off with some bad field placement due to a botched attempt at a kickoff return.

The Philadelphia Eagles got some easy pickings today when they kicked the ball off following a touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Bradford to Sam Hunt. Kicking the ball deep in the end zone, the Eagles stormed down the field, despite not expecting much of a run back, if any at all. Damien Williams attempted a return, but slipped (he was injured on the play) at the one yard line.

This play was followed by a Dolphins’ penalty, forcing them even closer to their own end zone. The Eagles were relentless, and forced a safety to put themselves up 9-3. They then scored on the next drive, making the score 16-3.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Williams would return to the game following the injury on this play.

One thing is for sure, this game put the Dolphins in a very tough spot, as they were already falling behind, and this helped the Eagles gain some more momentum to their advantage.

The changing rules of the kickoff placement throughout the past few years have made the play change drastically. Kickers are closer to the end zone to start now, and it has ultimately been made easier for them to kick it past the end zone, or kick balls that simply are not returnable. Touchbacks are the normal outcome now. Rarely do we see kickoffs returned, and in instances where they are returned, we see things like this happen.