The Atlanta Falcons committed a costly penalty when they were trying to put together a game-winning drive on Sunday, and head coach Raheem Morris says the blunder was the result of shady tactics from the New England Patriots.
The Falcons were trailing 24-23 and had possession at around midfield with just over 2 minutes remaining at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Center Ryan Neuzil snapped the ball to Michael Penix Jr. on 2nd-and-10 before the quarterback was ready, which led to some confusion.
Penix appeared to think there was a penalty or a dead ball, so he threw the ball into the turf. That led to an intentional grounding penalty, which backed the Falcons up 10 yards and resulted in a loss of down. Penix then threw an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-20, forcing Atlanta to punt.
Following his team’s 24-23 loss, Morris was asked about the costly penalty on 2nd-and-10. He claimed Patriots players were clapping to simulate the Falcons’ snap, which is why Neuzil snapped the ball prematurely.
“They were clapping. Simulated our snap, got us to snap the ball,” Morris said, via Mark Daniels of MassLive.com. “That’s why the ball was snapped early to Mike, and he wasn’t ready for the snap.”
A defensive player clapping to simulate the offense’s snap would fall under the umbrella of “disconcerting signals,” which are prohibited by NFL rules. An act like that is supposed to result in a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Penix also told reporters that Neuzil told him the center heard Patriots players clapping and thought Penix was clapping for the snap.
“Whenever I’m clapping, that means I want the ball, and (Neuzil) said he heard them clapping (and) he thought it was my clapping,” Penix said, via ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “He snapped the ball, I threw the ball in (Kyle Pitts’) direction. He had just released on routes. I thought I was going to be OK with the grounding part, but obviously that wasn’t the case.”
One video angle of the play showed a Patriots player clapping to get his teammate’s attention, though that player was nowhere near the line of scrimmage. It is possible that led to some confusion for Neuzil.
Patriots defensive lineman Milton Williams said he was unaware of any clapping.
“Who was clapping? Did it look like I was clapping?” Williams asked the media. “I’m going to go watch and see who was clapping. I didn’t hear no clapping. I’m looking at the ball. The ball moves, I’m gone.”
The biggest issue for Atlanta is that they had a chance to tie the game after scoring a late touchdown, but their kicker completely blew it.
