Worst penalty ever? Dolphins player fails badly on attempted field-goal block

The Miami Dolphins put themselves behind 23-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the third quarter because of a lack of discipline. But one Dolphins player decided to up the ante on that as the Steelers were attempting to kick a field goal.

Watch as the Dolphins’ Tony Lippett tried the all-the-rage leap over the line to try to block the Steelers’ short kick. Credit to Lippett in that he did not make contact with the Steelers’ line, which would have been a penalty. But only one problem: The Steelers hadn’t snapped the ball yet.

This is one of the sadder penalties you’ll see. The Dolphins, already on the ropes before ultimately falling 30-12, were staring at 20-point deficit at the time of the kick. But with Lippett’s offsides, the Steelers offense took the ball back and made it a 30-6 game on Le’Veon Bell’s touchdown run.

This is the kind of afternoon it was for the Dolphins in their first playoff game in eight seasons. Was Lippett channeling Troy Polamalu at Heinz Field? Or maybe Lippett was up Saturday in his hotel watching a high school football player pull this move off in an all-star game.

The Dolphins wish they had played with the discipline of a high school team Sunday. It was worst than that.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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