Miami coach Mike McDaniel was alerted to a play near the conclusion of the first half of the Bills’ 31–21 victory over the Dolphins, and the NFL has since taken notice.
As teams frequently do to run out the game clock, Josh Allen, the quarterback for the Bills, and the team’s offense lined up to kneel the ball with two seconds remaining in the first half, and the score knotted at 14. However, Allen seemed to fumble the ball and then kneel while recovering it at the same time. The official sounded the whistle as he took the knee. When Dolphins CB Jack Jones tried to chase the Bills signal-caller and the ball, Allen jumped up, threw the ball to an official, and walked off to the locker room. The play is described as an Allen fumble and recovery at the Bills’ 28-yard line in the NFL’s official scorebook for the match.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Friday that he spoke with the league over the play.
Therefore, this was a fantastic mental discipline practice for me. I witnessed it. “I was aware of what transpired,” McDaniel stated. “I witnessed the whistle blow as well. I saw them dash in. Knowing that he just fumbled—or that they did, at least—I hurried in to get ready for the second half. So we’ll be in talks with the league. I have yet to receive any feedback.
“However, live speed gave the impression that the center-quarterback exchange was clean, but it looked like a fumble. We’ll see how the league handles it, though.
NFL rules state that an official must declare the ball dead when a quarterback immediately drops to one knee or imitates doing so, behind or beyond the line of scrimmage, or when a runner declares himself down by kneeling or falling to the ground and obviously not trying to move the ball forward.
Allen seemed to have done one or both of those things, and the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game. However, it will be intriguing to hear the league’s perspective.
“And for me, I really work at not expending emotional energy on past things that I can’t fix,” McDaniel said. “If I believe that what I’m upset about will affect things going forward, I’ll become upset on game day unless I’m talking. Unless I’m having an adult tantrum, I don’t think it’s proper for everyone to wait around.
“I ran inside and worked on the plays coming out of the half.”
After losing against Buffalo, who moved to 3–0, the Dolphins fell to 0–3.
