Dolphins free kick – Titans game confuses everyone thanks to new kick-off rules

The Tennessee Titans defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-12 Monday Night Football in Week 4. Miami briefly had the ball at the 10 with 2:33 left, but Tyler Huntley was called for an intentional grounding in the end zone, essentially ending the game. And yet then things got interesting.

After the safety forced the Dolphins to take a free kick from the 20-yard line, they announced they would attempt an onside kick, but used their punter to do so. Jay Bailey shot the ball high into the air and it fell to the ground near midfield, where it bounced once and was caught by one of the Dolphins players.

If there was a live audience, you would have seen Colt Anderson, the Titans special teams coordinator, screaming on the sidelines because none of his players made a fair catch. However, the decision not to take the kick resulted in a penalty for the Dolphins because the kick went beyond the prepared zone, as rules analyst Jerry Bergman sort of explained on the broadcast.

The head referee's official announcement noted that the ball had gone beyond the landing zone, but the call resulted in the Titans taking the lead at the 10, meaning the Titans gained more than 40 yards by hitting the Failed to make a fair catch in field position. At least that's what seems to have happened.

The Chris Fowler-led ESPN broadcast didn't answer any real questions because they didn't seem to know what was going on either. Also, not many people were watching on TV.

The new NFL kickoff rules remain an adventure for everyone, including fans, broadcasters, players and even coaches.