Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Still scored one of the easiest touchdowns of his NFL career Sunday afternoon.
During the third quarter of an eventual 35-14 loss to the New England Patriots, Stills breezed past Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy and found himself all alone in the end zone. Quarterback Matt Moore found him, too, lofting a pass into the wideout’s arms for a 22-yard score.
There seemed to be some miscommunication on the play between Van Noy and safety Devin McCourty, with Van Noy apparently believing he’d have help over the top. But when asked about the blown coverage Tuesday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick placed the blame on himself.
“What was supposed to happen was we were supposed to have the pattern covered,” Belichick said in a conference call with reporters. “But we didn’t. I think really, that play is probably more my fault than anyone else’s. There were certainly things that could have been better on it, but in the end, we have some flexibility in our coverages, and we make adjustments in coverages from time to time based on a formation or based on the type of pattern that another team’s running.
“And I think this was just one of those where the players were trying to do the right thing. We were trying to get to something that would have helped us, but it just kind of didn’t work out. And that’s, again, probably more my fault, because we just didn’t have it clean enough. It just wasn’t presented well enough. They didn’t understand it, and it just obviously didn’t play out the way we wanted it to.
“The players were trying to do the right thing. They had the right idea. We were trying to apply something, and we just didn’t have it right. And that really goes back to me more than anybody else, so I’ll take that one.”
Fortunately for the Patriots, Stills’ touchdown catch did not end up costing them. It cut New England’s lead to seven points, but Miami failed to score the rest of the way, and the Pats found the end zone twice more to seal the win.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
