One of the most frustrating moments from the Miami Dolphins’ 27-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders may have consequences awaiting the player involved
Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley states there could be consequences looming for one of Miami’s most frustrating moments from a 27-13 loss to Las Vegas.
One of the first warning signs that things would go awry on Sunday in Las Vegas for the Miami Dolphins came upon their first defensive stop.
Miami safety Zayne Anderson crashed into a Raiders receiver on third down, forcing the football to fall harmlessly to the ground. But then, after a long delay, a yellow flag fell to the ground. And the Raiders were awarded a fresh set of downs courtesy of a “taunting” penalty via CB JuJu Brents. It cost the Dolphins points early — a deficit they never recovered from. And, after the game, head coach Jeff Hafley touched on the play in question. There may be consequences looming for Brents.
Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley states that CB JuJu Brents could be fined for taunting penalty that helped swing loss to Raiders
“I asked. They just told me they called him for taunting. Which was obviously one of the biggest calls in the game. It’s a third-down stop, and it led to…points. That’s a huge momentum swing in the game. So we’ll watch the film and learn from it, but that’s something that we’ve emphasized. You can’t taunt. So if it was indeed taunting, then he’s going to get fined for it. You can’t do it.”
— Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley on CB JuJu Brents’ taunting foul
The penalty in question was…let’s just call it questionable at best. The penalty drew ire from the broadcast team, too — as Brents held his hands out to signal incomplete while standing next to the Raiders’ receiver, waiting for SAF Zayne Anderson to return to the field of play. But I will say this, Hafley being very matter of fact about an incident like this is something I can appreciate.
A costly mistake deserves consequences. I remember a few years ago watching one Dolphins linebacker make several costly miscues on special teams in consecutive games — while never having any known repercussions for errors that were hurting the team. If you play poorly, your playing time should be on notice. If you make an unforced, avoidable error, there should be some blowback.
Perhaps the Dolphins will determine that the side judge in this case is full of mud. And if that’s the case, they’ll band together and try to put it behind them. But if they determine Brents was at fault, we know for certain there’s a punishment awaiting him. There were plenty of errors on Sunday. Few were more costly than that penalty call, though. So Brents will need to hope Hafley sees the exchange as innocently as the broadcast team seemed to believe. Or else.
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