Johnny Hekker Gives Us A Rare Punter Unnecessary Roughness Penalty

We saw a unicorn in South Florida today. When the Miami Dolphins were up 35-14 on the Panthers, Carolina punter Johnny Hekker caught himself an unnecessary roughness penalty.

Yes, a punter got an unnecessary roughness penalty.

It all started when Hekker booted the ball to Miami with 9:55 left to play. After the play, he got in a little skirmish with Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode. Goode gave Hekker a light shove on the way to the sideline, and Hekker responded with a push back. After some face-to-face jawing, the punter head-butted the linebacker.

And Goode gave us a flop that would humble even LeBron James or literally any European soccer player.

Every time I watch this video, I see something different. But it's all funny.

First, there's Goode trying to sell the penalty. I get it. But my guy, you just took a dive on a head-butt from a punter. You deserve all the ridicule you get in the film room this week.

And then there was Hekker's gesture after the head-butt — the hands-up, "I didn't do anything" move.

Finally, the image of the referee falling on top of Goode. Hilarious.

(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Ultimately, Hekker's penalty didn't matter much because Miami got called for an offsetting defensive holding penalty on the same play.

Even so, Carolina couldn't keep up in Week 6. Bryce Young and the winless Panthers went up 14-0 on the explosive Dolphins to start the game — only for Miami to score 35 unanswered and win 42-21.

Carolina falls to 0-6, but Johnny Hekker takes the honorary W.

Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.