First, it was defensive end William Hayes in the second quarter, gripping his right knee in pain after a second-quarter sack on Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. He didn’t return.
One drive later, it was defensive tackle Akeem Spence, ejected after being called for an unnecessary roughness penalty when he pulled off a Raiders player’s helmet.
And then in the third quarter, it was defensive end William Hayes who left the field with a knee injury and didn’t play another snap.
So when Davon Godchaux nicked his ankle with a few minutes left in the Dolphins’ 28-20 win on Sunday, the defensive tackle knew he needed to find a way to work through the pain.