Miami Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi had to learn the hard way about the difficulty in getting New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis to the ground.
During the first quarter of New England’s 36-7 win over Miami, Lewis caught a short pass, faked a spin move to the inside and exploded back to the outside, leaving Misi to grasp at nothing but air as the Patriots’ litterbug back burst up the field for 19 of the most stylish yards from Thursday night.
“He juked the s— out of me,” Misi said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I thought I had inside leverage, and thought maybe I had him. But then he came back inside real quick and went back outside.”
Lewis caught six passes for 93 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. He also carried five times for 19 yards. The fourth-year running back from Pitt is now on pace for 1,300 total yards in 2015, including almost 800 receiving. He has at least 90 total yards in four of his six games this season.
Despite standing just 5’8″ and weighing under 200 pounds, Lewis has proven himself to be one of the game’s most slippery players. His incredible stop-and-start skills help him weave his way through heaps of defenders.
“The dude is unreal with the way he can move. I don’t know if anyone else can move like that, the way he can cut,” tight end Rob Gronkowski said.
Of Lewis’ 349 receiving yards this season, 198 have come after the catch. He gained 15 of those yards on his highlight play against Misi on Thursday night, and another 19 when he caught a screen pass behind the line on 3rd-and-17 and picked up 18 yards. Another big chunk came when he hauled in a short pass from Tom Brady and raced into the end zone to put the Patriots up 19-0 with 24 seconds left in the first half.
Brady said it “would be a miracle for anybody to touch him,” calling Lewis a “dynamic player.”
Misi almost certainly agrees.
This is the spin move to end all other spin moves combined. Dion Lewis…smh. #MIAvsNE #TNF https://t.co/4GQSVn3Cj8
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2015