Patriots

Minnesota Vikings place kicker Greg Joseph celebrates his game-winning field goal against the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings rallied from a 33-point ...

“When he lateraled the ball … … I’ve got to tackle the guy, and we play for overtime.” “It’s on me, and it’s my fault. “And when he caught it, I saw Mac (Jones) was back there and just hoping that he could avoid whatever effort that Mac had to tackle him, hope he had enough juice left in his body to get to the end zone.” “Once Rhamondre (Stevenson) pitched the ball to Jakobi (Meyers), I figured they’d probably just tackle whoever had it, and that would be it and we’d go to overtime,” McDaniels said, [per NFL](https://www.nfl.com/news/patriots-wr-jakobi-meyers-on-lateral-i-didn-t-see-chandler-jones-at-the-time).

The New England Patriots had a prime opportunity to make up ground in the wild-card race on Sunday. However, a heartbreaking final play leaves New England ...

Because the Patriots can't get out of their own way, and their offense continues to be a mess 14 games into the season. New England's defense can keep it in games, but the offense isn't going to keep pace with teams like Miami, Cincinnati and Buffalo—in the regular season or after it. It was a disastrous end to an ugly day, and it leaves the Patriots needing help to make the postseason. It's clear that he and the offensive game-planning tandem of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge aren't on the same page. Uche, taken in the second round of the 2020 draft, continues to shine in his breakout campaign. The Patriots did have a couple of standouts on Sunday, including Stevenson, who rumbled for 172 yards on the ground. He had a half-sack, a quarterback hit and forced another sack when he pressured Derek Carr into the arms of linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley. New England found momentum in the second half, going on a 21-13 run, and might have been winners if they had just played a fifth period. "Thought he was open, tried to give it to him and let him try and make a play with it. However, a heartbreaking final play leaves New England on the outside looking in with three weeks left to play. The loss dropped New England to 7-7 and left it slotted as the AFC's No. Instead of simply taking it to extra time, running back Rhamondre Stevenson flipped the ball back to wideout Jakobi Meyers, who in turn made an ill-advised lateral in the direction of Mac Jones.

The Dolphins lost in Buffalo. The Jets lost to the Lions. All New England needed was a win over the 5-8 Raiders to improve to 8-6 and solidify a postseason spot ...

Per the Upshot model, the Patriots' playoff chances jump to 42 percent if they manage to find a way to beat the Bengals. Even a split with the Bengals (win) and Dolphins (loss) drops the chances to 6 percent. If the Chargers lose to the Colts and the Rams (not going to happen), and if the Dolphins lose to the Packers before losing to the Patriots, and if the Patriots win their next two games ... If the Patriots lose to the Bengals, the number drops to 12 percent. Even if the Patriots manage to win their next two home games -- vs. The Jets lost to the Lions.

Pending the results of other AFC games, the Patriots' odds will only increase to 59% if they beat the Bengals and Dolphins at home in the coming weeks, ...

“It stings, and it’s going to sting, but we’ve got more games to play, and we got to turn the page, and keep fighting. Pending the results of other AFC games in Weeks 16 and 17, the Patriots’ odds will only increase to 59% if they beat the Bengals and Dolphins in their next two games, per FiveThirtyEight. According to FiveThirtyEight’s NFL playoff projections, the Patriots’ odds of reaching the postseason are currently 19%.

It's not looking good for the New England Patriots, but they still control their own destiny for a spot in the NFL playoffs.

And you most certainly can’t pencil the Patriots in for three consecutive wins. Vs. Of course, there are other ways for the Patriots to make the playoffs. However, there remains one straightforward way for New England to make the playoffs. The loss dropped New England to a disappointing 7-7 through 15 weeks. Given the losses from other AFC contenders in Week 15, New England on Sunday had an opportunity to greatly strengthen its postseason chances with a win over the Raiders.

New England has dropped out of the playoff picture again.

[Arizona Cardinals](https://www.revengeofthebirds.com/) (4-10), 16. [Atlanta Falcons](https://www.thefalcoholic.com/) (5-9), 14. [New Orleans Saints](https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/) (5-9), 13. [Carolina Panthers](https://www.catscratchreader.com/) (5-9), 12. [Seattle Seahawks](https://www.fieldgulls.com/) (7-7), 9. [Denver Broncos](https://www.milehighreport.com/) (4-10), 16. [Green Bay Packers](https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/) (5-8), 11. They are still the heavy favorites to eventually win the division, though, given that their rivals — all of whom sitting at 5-9 — have not shown much either this season. Las Vegas Raiders (6-8), 12. [Cleveland Browns](https://www.dawgsbynature.com/) (6-8), 13. [New York Jets](https://www.ganggreennation.com/) (7-7), 10. [Jacksonville Jaguars](https://www.bigcatcountry.com/) (6-8), 11.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledges his team's need to “eliminate mistakes” following their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.

I'm supposed to know the situation, I'm supposed to know how much time is on the clock. "I got to tackle the guy,” Jones said postgame. “We’ve got to turn the page and keep fighting and don’t quit. “It stings, and it’s going to sting, but we’ve got more games to play,” Jones said. “We have to eliminate those mistakes and we just gave up some big critical plays,” Belichick said. At 7-7, New England must now face the daunting task of turning the page and moving forward. "The coaches gave us a play just to kind of run the time out, just get down,” Stevenson said. Ironically, New England’s last line of defense between Chandler Jones and the end zone was Mac Jones, who fell victim to one of the NFL’s most potent stiff arms. Sunday’s snafu was the latest example of New England’s players being inadequately prepared for the circumstances. On the final play of regulation, running back Rhamondre Stevenson took a handoff from quarterback Mac Jones up the middle to the Raiders 32-yard line. While Meyers’ decision to lateral was hardly defensible, his was not the only egregious misstep during the series. The playcall is just a draw play and nothing more, nothing less than that.

Kyle Dugger has two touchdowns in 2022; responsible for three of the five defensive scores. RB Rhamondre Stevenson sets career-high with second 100-yard game of ...

Stevenson had a 34-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, the longest touchdown run of his career. K Nick Folk extended his streak to 59 straight field goals under 40 yards with a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter. RB Rhamondre Stevenson went over 100 yards for the second time in 2022 and for the fourth time in his career after finishing with a career-high 172 yards on 19 carries for 9.1-yards per carry. Detroit, Dugger forced a fumble after a short reception by WR DeAndre Hopkins and LB Raekwon McMillan returned the ball 23 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter at Arizona (12/12). The most games in a season for the Patriots with a 6.0-yard average is RB Carl Garrett with four games in 1969. The Patriots have never had a defensive player finish with more than two touchdowns on defense in a season since 1970. The last Patriots player to have three games averaging 6.0-yards per carry in a single season was Dion Lewis in 2017. Dugger is the first Patriots defensive player with two touchdowns in a season since CB Stephon Gilmore in 2019. The Patriots scored on defense for the fifth time in 2022, tied with Arizona for the most in 2022. He returned a fumble 59 yards for a touchdown in the win vs. It is the 19th time under Bill Belichick that the team has rushed for at least 200 yards, and the first time since gaining 222 yards rushing at Buffalo on Dec. The most sacks the team has had under Bill Belichick is 49 sacks in 2015.

If this is it for two franchise pillars, they'll be going out on a disappointing note that wasn't their fault.

If they were to make the postseason it might have be enough to convince Belichick to stay loyal to Patricia and Judge in their current ill-fitting roles. The defense is playoff good and the special teams are good enough. It had to be tempting to try to win the game on one play because this isn’t a group that’s been reliable at assembling drives after going 2-for-13 on third down. If this is their final season, Sunday’s loss made it likely it will end out of the playoffs. For him, this season might be a hiccup if the Patriots fix the staff during the offseason. After each considered retirement last year, they came back for 2022 thinking they were joining a team that was on the rise last year.

Coming off a last-second loss the Raiders, the Patriots will look to stick together over a final three-game stretch that will show where they truly stack up ...

In all likelihood, the Pats would have to win out to secure a spot, but even if that's not in the cards the final three games present three different opportunities to show the Patriots can still compete with the AFC iron, that they're not as far off as a playoff-less season might indicate. We just got to keep fighting." They're arguably the hottest team in the conference and have reinforced their spot as one of the AFC's best teams. We have to keep believing in one another. We will work to eliminate those and continue to play the good football that we play, but we just had too many mistakes and too many bad plays to win. Touchdown controversy aside, the Patriots defense had their chances to seal the win again but couldn't come up with a final stop, a fatal flaw with an offense that has been so limited. We win as a team, we lose as a team. For most teams that should've been a winning performance, but even that silver lining came apart on the final Raiders scoring drive that went 81 yards in just 1:39. [devastating ending against the Raiders](https://www.patriots.com/news/8-keys-from-patriots-last-second-loss-to-raiders) that dropped the Patriots to 7-7 on the 2022 season and left their slim playoff hopes dangling by a thread. The Bengals have won six straight and eight of their last nine. "That's the one thing we can't do is quit. Miscues and miscommunication once again littered their performance with the common offensive themes of poor performance on third down (2-of-13) and in the red zone (0-of-1) that continue to hamper the attack.

Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers' unnecessary lateral on the final play was caught out of the air by Raiders DE Chandler Jones and returned for a walk-off ...

There was nothing that was clear and obvious that his foot was touching the white. We blew it up, and I believe TV blew it up, and there was nothing that was clear and obvious either way. But he made it to the end zone. The top seven teams in each conference qualify for the postseason, and the Raiders currently sit two games out in 11th place in the AFC, behind the No. Meyers then spied his quarterback, [Mac Jones](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4241464/mac-jones), near the middle of the field and uncorked a ball backward that stayed in the air for what seemed like an eternity. We knew there was zero time left on the clock, and I think I saw Jakobi kind of spot up to throw it back -- and I was just looking for the nearest guy, and Mac Jones was right there," Chandler Jones said. So I was like, 'You know what, let me take this moment to myself a little bit and grab a few tears.'" It also was the second go-ahead defensive TD on the final play of regulation in NFL history. "I teared up a little bit because I just love football," he said. ... Just hopefully, he had enough juice in his body to get to the end zone.'" Both came when he was with the Patriots. But they'll smile at the Sea of Hands and embrace the Holy Roller.

Former wide receiver Julian Edelman posted a video on Twitter reacting to the Patriots' loss to the Raiders on the game's final play.

It was a crowning achievement for Messi (coming despite Mbappe’s hat-trick), with arguably the greatest player in soccer history finally adding its signature trophy to [his collection](https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1604535970065305607?s=20&t=I9N68bvNsfU5b6n088kUTg). Trivia: Argentina have now won the World Cup three times. Former Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones ran the ball back for a walk-off touchdown after New England wide receiver Jakobi Meyers’s disastrous attempt to lateral the ball on the last play of regulation. Jones’s score came at the end of a back-and-forth game that included controversy, multiple comebacks, and some uncharacteristically bad situational football from Bill Belichick’s team. [win the World Cup](https://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/2022/12/18/world-cup-final-france-argentina-recap-score/) after a thrilling final ended 3-3 after extra time. [30-24](https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2022/12/18/patriots-raiders-takeaways-analysis-recap/) to the Raiders on a crazy final play.

The Patriots' collapse was influenced by the NFL's replay ruling and Jakobi Meyers' ill-advised lateral. But they could have and should have won the game ...

I'm guessing it's a tripping penalty and the Raiders get to line up to kick a field goal to win it. I'm not going to look it up, though, because it doesn't matter, because the Patriots lost a football game in the most unimaginable fashion, and the season is now all but over. Then on the next play, a third-and-13, the Patriots ran ... And back-to-back penalties on defense -- illegal contact and defensive holding -- gave the Raiders free first downs on one of their touchdown drives. One false start was more of an illegal procedure, and the moves the fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to the 6-yard line and cost the team four points. And that's after Mac Jones' dreadful day is factored in to the numbers. For one, the Patriots failed to score a touchdown after having first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. And the Patriots weren't back at the 9 or 10-yard line. The Patriots were presumably guarding against the deep ball, for fear of giving up an 81-yard bomb to tie the game. But some soft coverage and some gifted yardage changed the dynamics of those final minutes, allowing for the chaos at the end to take over. A fourth-and-10 for a defense that was dominating was all that stood in the way of the Patriots improving to 8-6, staying in the playoff picture, and giving the New England region something to follow with passion for the next few weeks. Keelan Cole's foot was out of bounds, and every available angle shows that to be the case.

Las Vegas scored a controversial touchdown along the way. What a finish.

1. What I love about the call from Fox's Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma on the nobody-can-believe-it-still final play of Sunday's Patriots-Raiders game is that ...

Instead, he was just having a conversation with the fans. Wertheim talks about Wahl's love of soccer, his rise at SI and the kind of person Grant was. And his “OH WOW” to finish off the play was perfect. On Saturday, Grizzlies star Ja Morant was ejected because the refs thought he was arguing with fans. Yesterday the Bucs blew a 17–0 lead before losing to the Bengals, 34–23. His, “OH NO” as Chandler Jones headed to the end zone was perfect. Props to Allen for giving Watt a hard time about being so rich. A Tom Brady–led team is finally having a bad season, and because of that, every week there are new eye-opening stats about the future Hall of Famer. Here is the Patriots’ local radio call of the play. Make sure you stay until the end for some solid analysis of New England. That play deserved nothing but emotion from the booth. Vilma’s “UH-OH” as Chandler Jones picked off the ball was perfect.

The last play of Sunday's disaster in Vegas will be what's remembered, but the continued dysfunction by the Patriots this late into the season poses way ...

You have to tell guys not to throw it backwards in a tie game to a spindly quarterback who's 55 yards from the goal line? We didn't have the play right, so I took a timeout so that we did it right." Obviously, we got to do a better job playing situational football and not making critical mistakes in the game." A whistle isn’t heard on the telecast until the ball was actually settling into Meyers’ hands. We made a mistake on the play." Q: On the final play: “I would say we made a mistake on that play. And it was an issue earlier in the game as well as Jones’ average arm lacked the velocity needed on a couple of sideline throws in the first half. And after spending the week fielding questions on whether he was cool with it, Belichick called out mistakes in -- for him -- a more direct way than usual. It was the capper (one hopes) to a season of offensive futility. That’s not the standard, but just in general, we just have to do a better job.” "We just have to do a better job," Belichick said of Jones’ performance. That Bill Belichick’s Patriots produced a play that vaulted immediately into the top-five most absurd moments in league history?

The Indianapolis Colts were the embarrassment of the NFL after Saturday but that didn't last long thanks to the New England Patriots.

While that’s something that Indianapolis still has to endure, misery loves company, and New England replaced Indy as the team dealing with the most present-day laughs. For the Colts, they’ll also have to live with their embarrassing blown lead forever, something that’s etched in history as the largest comeback win for the Vikings. However, considering that this game was tied, this was completely unnecessary from the Patriots. On Sunday, one day after Indy’s all-time meltdown, the Patriots had an all-time blunder on the final play of the game that resulted in New England losing. However, New England decided to run a draw play and the unthinkable happened. Luckily for the Colts, that someone else didn’t take long to arrive.

Meyers threw it back toward Mac Jones, but the ball was caught by Raiders linebacker Chandler Jones, who ran into the end zone for the winning touchdown and a ...

But based on the way their defense was playing, they would have had a decent shot of winning in the extra period. "There were only a couple seconds on the clock. Just gotta know what’s going on in the game." He broke a few tackles and ran into Raiders territory, but instead of just going to the ground and playing for OT, he lateralled the ball to Jakobi Meyers. I just gotta know the situation. "The coaches gave us a play just to kinda run the time out, just get down," Stevenson said.