New England Patriots lineman denied fourth down conversion in wild ending
The New England Patriots thought they had secured an all-important fourth down conversion against the Miami Dolphins, only to be forced to sacrifice possession after a controversial ruling.
There was late drama in the closing stages of the NFL Sunday Night Football game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots were down by seven and looking to score a touchdown and possibly send the game into overtime.
They may have done that had they not been denied a crucial fourth down in the last minute of the AFC East clash. In dramatic scenes, while on a 4th-and-4, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones found tight end Mike Gesicki, who was just short of the marker.
Staying on his feet, the 27-year-old was able to complete a pass to Cole Strange, who everyone thought had made it to the first down as three of his teammates pushed him forward. But to the dismay of Patriots fans, the referee ruled that the guard had just stopped agonisingly short of where he needed to give the Patriots the chance of getting back into the game.
As Cole had just missed his mark, the officials called a turnover and gave possession to the Dolphins, who went on to win 24-17. Belichick's men were looking to complete a remarkable comeback after trailing 17-3 during the third quarter.
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A sensational play on special teams to block a Jason Sanders field goal helped galvanise the team and lift their level of play. But as they did against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday, the Patriots just fell short of a comeback and lost their second straight game - the first time since 2001 they've done so.
The team’s slow starts are having a significant impact so far. The Patriots registered three turnovers in the first quarter and have trailed by 10 or more points in their opening two games this season. This a first for Bill Belichick as Patriots coach and when asked why his team is starting games slowly, he simply said: “Can't turn the ball over."
The Patriots lost their first two games of the season for the first time since 2001 (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)Quarterback Jones added: “Just stay positive and try to work together and find solutions to issues or problems. That's all you can do -- arrive early, stay later and grind with each other." Since 1990, only 31 of 270 teams that lost their first two games of the campaign and qualified for the Playoffs.
Since the regular season was increased to 17 games in 2021, there has been more margin for error and the Cincinnati Bengals qualified for the AFC Championship Game last season despite going down 0-2. Commenting on his team's performance Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon said: “When we come back [this week], it's not going to be, 'How are you all going to pull it together?' We already know how.
"We have to play how we played in the second half -- from the first play. When we take the field, we have to have some type of energy, some type of juice. We can't wait until we're down 17, or 13, to make a comeback. It's too hard in this league. People are too good, schemes are too good." The Patriots will be in action again this coming weekend when they face the New York Jets after they suffered a comprehensive defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.
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