December 28, 2015
Peter Solari
Tom Brady led the Patriots on 66-yard game tying drive in the fourth quarter, to force overtime against the Jets on Sunday. After winning the OT coin toss, New England captain Matthew Slater told officials that the Patriots wanted to, "kick," giving New York the first possession in the extra period, and a chance to win the game without allowing Brady to touch the ball. Slater appeared to argue with referee Clete Blakeman, but that discussion was about the Patriots having the option on which side of the field they would defend. ESPN's Kevin Seifert tweeted a transcript of the conversation.
And here is a video of the incident, courtesy of the NFL on CBS:
On the ensuing possession, Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Eric Decker on a six yard touchdown, giving the Jets a crucial 26-20 win at home.
With the win, the Jets moved into the AFC's second wild card position, and now control their postseason destiny. They can secure their trip to the playoffs with a win in Buffalo next Sunday.
Most people assumed that Slater screwed up in giving the Jets the ball to start overtime, but, as we learned after the game, Patriots coach
Bill Belichick told his captains to elect to kick, should they win the coin flip. Belichick's motives remain unclear. Regardless, there's enough there to give the Patriots our 'Boner of the Week' award. At the very least, this unusual situation gave Bob Costas a reason to whine on Sunday Night Football, so we should all be thankful for that.
