The New England Patriots on Sunday committed what will always be remembered as one of the biggest blunders in sports history, and several players had a difficult time trying to express their disappointment after the loss. One troubling remark came from longtime center David Andrews.
The Patriots and Raiders were tied at 24 with three seconds left. New England called for a draw, and Rhamondre Stevenson ran for a nice gain before pitching the ball to Jakobi Meyers, who then threw a lateral to the wrong team, costing New England the game (video here).
So many aspects of the play were mind-blowing that it was fair to wonder if Stevenson and/or Meyers did not realize the game was tied. A reporter asked Andrews after the 30-24 loss if Patriots players all knew the score.
“I mean, I’m not sure exactly. Like I said, you’d have to talk to coach on that,” Andrews said. “I’m the center.”
Andrews is in his eighth season with the Patriots. He has been listening to Bill Belichick preach the importance of situational football for nearly a decade. The fact that he could not even say with certainty that his teammates knew they were in a tie game with 0 seconds left on the clock is, at the very least, noteworthy.
If the Patriots were playing for overtime, they should have just taken a knee. The only other play that makes sense in a situation like that is a Hail Mary, but Belichick offered a brutal reason for not calling one.
Stevenson obviously should have known to just go down rather than lateral the ball. Meyers, who tried to throw the ball about 20 yards to Mac Jones only to see it land in Raiders defensive lineman Chandler Jones’ hands, admitted he was trying to be a hero. Even that doesn’t make sense. Did he think Mac was going to run 50 yards for a touchdown even if he caught it? Did Meyers have a brain fart and think his quarterback would be able to pass the ball forward?
No matter what Belichick and the Patriots say about the infamous play, it will never make sense. It was simply one of the dumbest mistakes in sports history, and it could very well cost New England a playoff spot.
