Bad calls continue but they wouldn’t change the Miami Dolphins outcome
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins lost today and while it was only a 10 point loss bad calls wouldn’t have changed the game.
Two calls, in particular, hurt the Miami Dolphins on Sunday and it was once again the home town referees in New England that gave them to the Patriots.
In both cases of today’s game, two bad calls allowed the Patriots to either score a touchdown or prevent one. In both cases, it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference in the outcome of the game.
The first bad call came when Jerome Baker chased Patriots’ quarterback Cam Newton the sideline. Newton tried to reach the goalline but Baker met him at the pylon knocking him out of bounds. The play was reviewed but was upheld and Newton was awarded the touchdown.
The problem? Newton’s foot hit the out of bounds line and the ball did not cross over the pylon. Because it was close and was originally ruled a touchdown it remained a score. It would not have mattered.
Placing the ball at the one-yard line in this game would have only delayed the inevitible score because the Dolphins defense could not stop the Patriots running game at all, especially in short-yardage situations.
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The second bad call came on the Dolphins final offensive drive when Mike Gesicki was mauled in the endzone by one of the Patriots corners. The replay showed Gesicki trying to adjust to the ball but his progress was clearly impeded by the defender.
Brian Flores was livid on the sidelines but it was under two minutes and therefore all replays would be called from the booth. They declined to review the play. That play ended with Ryan Fitzpatrick’s third interception. It would have placed the ball at the one-yard line.
Would the Dolphins have scored with another shot? Maybe but they still would have been down by three, would have needed a successful onside kick, and had less than a minute and a half left in the game.
The two calls have been discussed quite a bit on social media but in reality, they would more than likely not change the outcome of the game.