Hard Rock Stadium hosted the Orange Bowl on Friday night. Trying to host an NFL game there less than 48 hours later proved to be problematic.
The Miami Dolphins’ home field was a disaster for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, with patches and divots littering the playing surface. Patriots president Jonathan Kraft described the scene during a pregame interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“Bowl game, marching bands, big halftime show,” Kraft said. “This field — once the baseball left here — was always pristine. They have the weather, it’s natural grass. This does not look like the Miami field usually looks like.”
Pre-game look at starting offensive tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon assessing field conditions. pic.twitter.com/bi9c5MhMHk
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 1, 2017
How bad is field?? Re-seeding IT after warmups pic.twitter.com/LPoWZ7WXUS
— scottzolak 🏈 (@scottzolak) January 1, 2017
Seemingly hazardous conditions, re field and its surroundings for today's @Patriots @MiamiDolphins game. pic.twitter.com/N7YSyCL5Y0
— Bob Socci (@BobSocci) January 1, 2017
Kraft went on to take a shot at the NFL’s decision to schedule a game at a stadium that had hosted a bowl game just two days earlier.
“Maybe after something like this, they won’t be scheduling a home game on the same weekend as bowl games,” Kraft said. “I think they probably thought — and I am just guessing, I don’t know what the thinking at the league office was — but because the field down here is always usually so pristine that it wouldn’t be an issue. Clearly, it doesn’t look as good as it usually does.”
The poor playing conditions did not slow the Patriots’ offense down, however. New England scored on each of its first two possessions and led 14-0 after the first quarter.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
