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The New England Patriots were sluggish all day against the New York Jets, but somehow overcame even more injuries to force the game into overtime with a late touchdown pass by Tom Brady. Then things went off the rails.
On the coin flip for overtime, the Patriots won the toss but bizarrely elected to kick because, well, Bill Belichick thought it was the best decision. Regardless, it caused Dan Fouts to use the phrase “muscle memory” about 30 times in a 10-second stretch on the broadcast.
Slater says Belichick told them to kick off. Only confusion was whether they got to choose direction.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 27, 2015
Here is the transcript of the coin toss at MetLife. Seems like Slater just made a mistake. Game-changer. pic.twitter.com/ajuyE0u2Ml
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 27, 2015
The decision predictably cost the Pats the game. It only took the Jets five plays and 2:37 to march down the field and win with a six-yard TD pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Eric Decker.
In the long run, the loss might not hurt the Patriots too much, they’re still atop the AFC with a 12-3 record and have already clinched a first-round bye. The game could have playoff implications though, as the Jets win coupled with the Steelers loss to the Ravens pushes the Jets into the final Wild Card spot and a win-and-you’re-in scenario for Week 17.
