The Miami Dolphins threatened to make things terribly uncomfortable for the Green Bay Packers in the second half. After a 70-play touchdown drive and a defensive stop, the Dolphins drove 80 yards and threatened another touchdown that might have cut Green Bay's lead to eight.
Instead, a second down run by De'Von Achane from the 1-yard line was stopped to no avail. A third down pass to tight end Jonnu Smith was blocked by a Packers defender. And finally, Tua Tagovailoa was sacked on fourth down.
“There's one play call that I really want back,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on the fourth down play. “It was an accumulation of things over the course of the four-piece process that will be hard for us to swallow when we watch the film.”
On the final play of the drive, Tagovailoa faked a handoff to Achane before looking for a receiver to get open. But only Jaylen Waddle and Durham Smythe, both covered tightly, even made it across the goal line before the Packers' pass rushers swallowed up Tagovailoa.
The other three options never came close to being released. Alec Ingold tripped over right tackle Kendall Lamm's leg and both Achane and Julian Hill struggled to navigate the traffic in the middle of the field. The result was a disastrous four-down call that never had a chance.
A sack on 4th and goal!
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According to Tagovailoa, Ingold was the first reading of the play.
“I had seen Alec [Ingold] Fall and when I got through to Jaylen [Waddle]“I couldn’t really tell if he won his match or not,” Tagovailoa said. “At that point I was just trying to maneuver through the pocket and hopefully find an opening to find someone doing a climbing exercise.”
The turnover on downs all but nullified the Dolphins' comeback attempt, and the Packers closed the coffin with a 78-yard drive capped by a field goal that increased their lead to 19.
