Patriots’ Inexplicable Lateral Decision leads To Insane Last-Second Loss To Raiders

This was far from the Patriot Way – leading to as stunning a loss as you will ever see in the NFL.

With the game tied and almost surely headed for overtime, New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson decided to play the lateral game on the final play of regulation – usually seen when teams are losing.

 

It ended with Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones returning a fumble to give the Raiders and improbable 30-26 win at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. The loss drops the Patriots to 7-7, a game out of an AFC playoff spot.

🚨 RAIDERS WALK-OFF TD TO BEAT THE PATRIOTS 🚨

(via @Raiders) pic.twitter.com/w6bpRnUchv

— ESPN (@espn) December 19, 2022

“The play call was just a draw play, nothing more, nothing less,” Stevenson told reporters after the game. “I’m supposed to know the situation. I’m supposed to know how much time is on the clock in critical situations. I failed to do that today.”

 

“We made a mistake on the play,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick added.

 

The play started from the Patriots’ 45-yard line with Mac Jones handing off to Stevenson with three seconds left. He ran for 23 yards and for some reason chose to lateral the ball to Jakobi Meyers.

 

After running back some more, the ensuing lateral was picked off by Chandler Jones. He then stiff-armed Mac Jones, who was trying to make a tackle, to the ground and ran it all the way in for the decisive score.

 

“The coaches gave us a play just to kind of run the time out, get down,” Stevenson said. “There were only a couple of seconds left. I felt like I should have did just that and just gone down.”

The wild finish bailed out the Raiders (6-8), who led 17-3 at halftime before allowing the Patriots (7-7) to score 21 straight points. Las Vegas scored two touchdowns in the final 32 seconds and seriously damaged New England’s playoff hopes.

Stevenson, who went to high school in Las Vegas, had 19 carries for 172 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown with 3:43 left that appeared to put the game away.

 

But the Raiders answered in the final minute. Derek Carr found Keenan Cole in the left corner of the end zone for a 30-yard TD. Cole’s left foot came down close to the boundary, but the play was upheld on review.

Joseph Staszewski:

https://nypost.com/2022/12/18/patriots-lateral-decision-leads-to-insane-loss-to-raiders/

— with AP