T.J. Hockenson was heading for the end zone.
Kyler Murray had just hit the tight end on a pass in the left flat, and no one was in his way with the goal line in sight. The Minnesota Vikings led the Miami Dolphins by five points on Sunday in Week 4 with the game winding down.
Hockenson didn’t score, though.
He chose to slide after getting the first down.
He stayed inbounds. The clock kept running. The Vikings took three knees to win the game.
And it cost a lot of people.
Why T.J. Hockenson Slid
This was the last play before the two-minute warning, and the opposing Dolphins were out of timeouts.
The first down out of the two-minute warning meant that the Vikings could simply kneel three times and end the game as 15-10 winners with no need to even give the ball back to the Dolphins and risk something crazy happening.
There had just been a timeout, and the Vikings likely talked about it in the huddle that taking a knee or sliding like this could be a smart play.
Hockenson did the smart thing, but here’s the cost.
Betting Impact
The final line on this game was the Vikings being favored by either 9.5 or 10.5 points.
They held a five-point lead when Hockenson slid.
A touchdown, even without the extra point, would’ve covered the line for the Vikings.
Since Hockenson didn’t score, it instead gave the Dolphisn the cover, even though they didn’t win the game outright.
The total for the game was set with an over/under in the ballpark of 38.5, so even one score here wouldn’t have changed that. The Dolphins would’ve then had to score quickly, too, to even approach that.
Fantasy Football Impact
Of course, a lot of fantasy football players might rely on either Hockenson, or his QB Kyler Murray, to get them points.
Hockenson had already had a big day, so anyone who played him couldn’t be too disappointed, but it’s still less points than he would’ve had if he went into the end zone.
Murray could’ve used a passing touchdown there at the end to give him a better fantasy day.
Dolphins Impact
For the Dolphins, it was also a bummer from a statistical perspective. They, too, could’ve had some more numbers for guys like Malik Willis or Jaylen Wright or Malik Washington. They didn’t get another chance with the football, though.
It ends up being an 0-4 start for the Dolphins without a lot else to show for it, either.
And the Vikings end up with less numbers than they could’ve had, too.
T.J. Hockenson’s Slide to Avoid TD Costs Dolphins-Vikings Bettors, Fantasy Football Scores