The Patriots may be moving on following Sunday’s disastrous finish against the Raiders, but many are still pondering why New England opted to play the lateral game instead of giving quarterback Mac Jones a chance to hurl the ball downfield.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was pressed on the matter in his postgame press conference and remarked why a Hail Mary option didn’t appear to be on the table.
“Taking a shot at the end zone? We couldn’t throw it that far,” Belichick said Sunday.
Though Belichick elaborated on the play further, calling it a “mistake,” his answer about the Hail Mary could potentially raise questions — not to mention eyebrows — regarding Jones’ arm strength.
The Patriots and Raiders seemed destined to head into overtime on Sunday after Las Vegas tied things up late in the fourth, 24-24.
With three seconds remaining, Jones handed off the ball to Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who later tossed it to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Meyers then attempted to throw the ball toward the middle of the field, which landed in the hands of Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones, who ran it in for the game-winning touchdown.
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Jones, who hasn’t displayed much of a poker face over the Patriots’ play-calling this season, shouldered much of the blame for not tackling the Raiders’ Jones in those critical seconds.
“It’s on me, and it’s my fault. Because if we tackle him – or I tackle him – then we play for overtime. It’s all on me. Got to make that, not good enough by me. It is what it is, just got to tackle him and play for overtime. So, it’s on me,” Jones said postgame.
And just like Belichick, Jones — the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft — was also pressed about a would-be Hail Mary at that moment.
“Situationally, with what you practiced at that point on the field, was a Hail Mary completely out of the discussion? Or was that in your mind going into that play?” Jones was asked, to which the second-year quarterback replied, “I think Coach Belichick makes the coaching decisions there, so we put a lot of emphasis on it and work really hard at it, but just got to do better with execution as players.”
The Patriots, whose playoff hopes have continued to dwindle, will face the Bengals on Saturday.
