Let’s hop into a time machine and go back to Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season. The Miami Dolphins — winners of three straight games — welcomed the Tennessee Titans — holders of a 4-8 record at the time — to Miami Gardens, Florida for a Monday Night Football contest under the bright lights of Hard Rock Stadium.
The Dolphins were 9-3 at the time, tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the top seed in the AFC, leaders in the AFC East race and boasted the league’s most electric offense led by their All-Pro speedster at wide-receiver, Tyreek Hill.
Fans were certain that the MNF contest would be just another night at the office for Hill, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the rest of the Miami Dolphins offense.
Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.
Early in the game, Hill would be the victim of a hip-drop tackle tackle from a Titans defender after catching a screen pass from Tagovailoa. The takedown would injure the ankle of the man nicknamed “The Cheetah,” and he would be forced from the contest. He would later return, but it was clear that the injury was hampering his performance that night.
As a result, Tyreek Hill would play just 33 snaps in a game that the Dolphins should have won easily on paper — yet, ultimately lost 28-27 as the Titans mounted a ferocious comeback late in the night to seal Miami’s fate.
Hill — who was on pace to surpass the lofty 2,000 yards receiving goal he had set for himself prior to the start of the season — wouldn’t be the same player for the rest of the year and the Dolphins would falter as the regular season winded down, conceding the AFC East race to the Buffalo Bills.
On Monday, it was announced via numerous online sources that the infamous hip-drop tackle has been banned from the NFL ahead of the 2024 season. In fact, the vote from the NFL’s competition committee was unanimous despite the NFL Players Association’s objections.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network says to “expect more fines than flags as the league and coaches work to remove the technique.”
It will be interesting to see how the league enforces the new rule, and what the penalty will be for players flagged for the foul. Nevertheless, offensive players will presumably be happy with the change while defensive players will feel slighted with the NFL’s decision.
In fact, Miami’s star safety, Jevon Holland, weighed in shortly after the announcement was made on Twitter with this comment:
“Breaking news: Tackling Banned.”
It’s reasonable to assume he won’t be the only defender up in arms with the league’s most recent attempt to “make football safer.”