The New England Patriots only picked up two yards on the first three plays against the Miami Dolphins in Week 12, but the drive still ended in a touchdown after the team ran a fake punt for the first time in 13 years.
The Patriots ran a fake punt for the 1st time in 13 years, and it worked perfectly
Nate Ebner snapped a long streak for the Patriots with his 14-yard fake punt Sunday.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
A direct snap to special teams ace Nate Ebner led to a 14-yard gain that kept the Patriots’ offense on the field.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, the play resulted in a knee injury for Ebner that was serious enough to immediately rule him out for the remainder of the game.
But the play eventually led to a 2-yard touchdown run for Rex Burkhead that gave New England an early 7-0 lead. The clever fake that the Dolphins couldn’t stop might not have even been Bill Belichick’s call, but Ebner’s at the line of scrimmage.
The last fake for the Patriots? An unsuccessful direct snap to Larry Izzo on Dec. 12, 2004. Izzo played 13 seasons of special teams in the NFL and is now the special teams coordinator for the Houston Texans.
Never rule out anything from the Patriots.
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