The Green Bay Packers ran one of the worst fake punt attempts you will ever see against the Miami Dolphins. During the second quarter, the Packers were still in their own territory and facing a 4th-and-2 when safety Dallin Leavitt took a direct snap that was stuffed for no gain. The Dolphins were gifted with great field position and ended up kicking a field goal to go up 10 points.
Head coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t asked about the decision during Sunday’s postgame press conference, but he did address it on Monday.
“Yeah, that was all bad. It’s a turnover,” LaFleur said bluntly before switching to a more lighthearted tone. “The saving grace is that’s the first punt we’ve attempted to fake in four years, and we actually won the game. So now at least we put one on tape, although it was a bad one.”
At the time, LaFleur said the motive was to steal a possession on special teams. It was something he had spoken with the team about during the week, emphasizing that “it would be an important part of this game.”
Unfortunately, the plan backfired when Miami left their starting defensive line on the field for fourth down. Leavitt barreled into the teeth of the defense and wasn’t even remotely close to picking up the first down.
“They had bigger men in there than we would like them to have in that situation, said LaFleur.
Luckily, Green Bay’s defense was able to limit the damage by holding the Dolphins to a 34-yard field goal.
The botched trickeration notwithstanding, the Packers’ special teams still managed to have a productive day. Keisean Nixon started the game with a 93-yard kick return, and Mason Crosby made all three of his field goal attempts to help secure the win.
However, it’s probably safe to say Green Bay won’t be attempting any fake punts anytime soon, especially not without the chance to change the play if needed, according to LaFleur.
“We have to give our guys the ability to get out of that, no doubt.”
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