The Patriots suffered a troublesome loss Sunday, and followers had their give attention to a key determination in extra time.
No, it wasn’t Jerod Mayo opting to punt as a substitute of going for it on fourth-and-1. Although, that was a sticking level for some followers. It was move interference that went in opposition to New England cornerback Jonathan Jones, who was in protection on Seattle Seahawks large receiver Tyler Lockett.
The play occurred on first-and-10 from Seattle’s personal 31, and the penalty moved the Seahawks to New England’s 49. Geno Smith continued to drive his crew down the sphere to arrange Jason Myers for the game-winning 31-yard subject purpose.
Followers and Patriots beat reporters have been furious that the penalty was referred to as at that second since defenders typically have been taking part in tight with out a flag being thrown. It was made worse when Jones revealed Lockett admitted to him that it wasn’t truly a penalty. It is doable that Lockett was speaking trash, however he typically leaves that to his teammate DK Metcalf.
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There was one other defensive move interference within the recreation within the second quarter that additionally was a sticking level for followers. Marco Wilson was referred to as for interference on Lockett on a third-and-5 within the inexperienced zone that pushed the ball to the one-yard line. Zach Charbonnet rushed the ball in for a straightforward rating to place Seattle up, 14-10. It is unknown if Lockett mentioned something to Wilson, nevertheless it actually should not matter.
Did these penalties value the Patriots? Possibly, however you additionally might level to so many different issues that prevented New England from going 2-0. Jerod Mayo and Jacoby Brissett’s recreation administration was questionable. The crew’s offensive strategy was bipolar and lacked explosion that was feared within the preseason. And on that time, Seattle confirmed simply how gifted it was. Smith was dialed in on the Seahawks’ closing two drives, in contrast to Brissett, who struggled to make up for the errors of the offensive line.
Referee discourse is simply loser speak that oversimplifies a crew’s true deficiencies. Additionally, the Patriots not are ready to be a part of that dialogue. New England was projected to be one of many worst groups within the NFL, thus don’t benefit nationwide consideration. For twenty years, the Patriots have been hated due to the idea that the referees favored Tom Brady and gave him and the offense “all of the calls.” You see the identical discourse with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, particularly their “controversial name” on the finish of their Week 2 matchup that everybody truly will likely be speaking about.
There may be a lot variance on the subject of referee calls. The Seahawks have been referred to as for extra accepted penalty calls (6-to-3) and extra yards (50-to-42) than the Patriots. It is human error that we settle for, but folks will nonetheless waste air house — or textual content house — complaining about one thing that occurs each week in virtually each sport.
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New England is a rebuilding crew that does not have to depend on excuses to get higher. Mayo and his gamers understood that postgame and the followers ought to observe go well with.
