During the Miami Dolphins' 35-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Dolphins punter Bradley Pinion was part of a wild play.
On Miami's second possession of the second half, the Dolphins got one first down on an 11-yard completion from Malik Willis to Greg Dulcich, but a holding penalty on Austin Jackson, a short run by De'Von Achane and two incompletions led to a fourth-and-15 play from their own 39-yard line.
Dolphins long snapper Tucker Addington sent the ball back to Pinion for the veteran punter to flip the field, but the ball slipped from Pinion's hands and landed on the ground. While Pinion recovered the fumble, San Francisco took over at Miami's 28-yard line and found the end zone just two plays later.
After the game, local reporters asked Pinion about the play and if it was supposed to be a fake that didn't go well.
“No, it was straight up me - just [the ball] slipping out of my hand," Pinion explained. "I'll take full accountability that I got to hold onto the ball and get it off.”
Pinion had a post-fumble plan and then a post-play plan to move on.
“Pick it up and try to get it off, honestly. Try to make something good out of something terrible. It's just got to be better. I can't let the ball slip out of my hand," Pinion said. “You’ve got to take it as one-play sequence, especially as a specialist. It's just one streak of one, is what I always like to say. Got to have the memory of a goldfish, to quote “Ted Lasso,” honestly. Just forget about it and move on to the next one. Like I said, I can't let it slip out of my hand. It's all on me.”
Miami's special teams units have been a disaster so far this year, and these type of unforced errors make it incredibly hard for a team with a weak roster to win games.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins punter breaks down horrendous fourth-down mistake vs. 49ers
