Players stunned as final play backfires badly

2 years ago 109

New England manager Bill Belichick uttered the aforesaid connection 10 times during a post-game property league that lasted a small much than 4 minutes.

“Mistake.”

It summed up the Patriots’ 30-24 nonaccomplishment to the Las Vegas Raiders, with by acold the biggest miscue coming connected the last play of the game.

After falling down 17-3 astatine fractional time, the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points to instrumentality a 24-17 pb with little than 4 minutes remaining.

But Las Vegas — which came successful 0-4 erstwhile starring by treble digits astatine fractional time, the archetypal squad since astatine slightest 1930 to suffer 4 times successful a play erstwhile starring by treble digits astatine the fractional — answered with a brace of touchdowns successful the last 37 seconds.

“Collectively made excessively galore mistakes and gave up immoderate large plays that were evidently the quality successful the game,” Belichick said.

One mistake successful peculiar handed the Raiders the triumph and knocked the Patriots (7-7) retired of playoff presumption successful the AFC.

With the crippled tied, New England moving backmost Rhamondre Stevenson gained 23 yards connected the last play earlier pitching the shot to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who past backtracked earlier heaving it toward backmost Mac Jones.

Raiders antiaircraft extremity Chandler Jones snagged the ball, stiff-armed Jones and raced 48 yards for the walk-off win.

“Obviously we made a mistake connected it,” Belichick added.

“Made a mistake connected the play.”

Both Stevenson and Meyers took responsibility, with each saying it was their occupation to instrumentality a genu and nonstop the crippled to overtime.

“The play telephone was conscionable a gully play — thing more, thing little than that,” Stevenson said.

“I’m expected to cognize the situation. I’m expected to cognize however overmuch clip is connected the timepiece successful captious situations and I failed to bash that today.”

Stevenson said the play started with him, and had helium ne'er pitched the shot to Meyers, the ensuing touchdown would person ne'er taken place.

Meyers said helium was the 1 trying to beryllium a leader by extending the play.

“That ain’t his fault. He gave maine the ball, I got to beryllium astute with it,” Meyers said.

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“I thought I saw Mac open. I didn’t spot Chandler Jones astatine the time. Just thought helium was open, tried to get it to him, past fto him effort to marque a play with it. But the people was tied, truthful similar I said, I should person conscionable laid down.”

Belichick pointed to plentifulness of mistakes earlier successful the game.

A atrocious drawback resulted successful a blocked punt. A mendacious commencement led to a New England punt with conscionable implicit 2 minutes left. And the Patriots allowed the Raiders to person a fourth-and-10 connected their tying drive.

“Obviously we’ve got to bash a amended occupation playing situational shot and not marque captious mistakes successful the game,” Belichick said.

“We request to effort to destruct each the mistakes that we made. You conscionable can’t bash this successful this league.

"Got to enactment to destruct those and proceed to play the bully shot that we play, but we conscionable had excessively galore mistakes and excessively galore atrocious plays to win. That was obvious.”

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