The New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets on Sunday thanks in part to a call that was made for the first time in NFL history. Jets kicker Nick Folk missed a 56-yard field goal attempt wide left in overtime that would have given Tom Brady and company great field position, but Patriots rookie Chris Jones was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for pushing one of his teammates into a Jets offensive lineman.
[Video: Did the Patriots get hosed on this call against the Jets?]
The officials got the call right based on the new rule. It was just surprising that they decided to call it at such a crucial point in the game and essentially hand New York a victory. As you can see from the GIF above that Barstool Sports passed along, it appears the Jets did the same thing on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal earlier in the game.
Again, the call cannot be disputed. NFL officials were recently shown examples of the play and told that they need to start calling it. The issue is they should have been looking for it the entire game, not just in overtime. The animation above seems to show that they were not.
