FOXBOROUGH -- N'Keal Harry should have had the second touchdown of his NFL career Sunday in the 23-16 Patriots loss to the Chiefs.
Trailing 23-13 with just over 13 minutes left in the game, Harry caught a pass on the 15-yard line on an end-around and ran towards the goal-line. After using his speed to get outside, the rookie extended the ball towards the pylon and hit it, but the referees ruled he stepped out at the 3-yard line.
Since the Patriots had used all their challenges earlier in the game, and it wasn't ruled a touchdown on the field, the play could not be reviewed.
The play did pick up a first down, but the next three plays went: loss of two yards, incompletion sack, so the drive resulted in a field goal, not a touchdown.
"I mean, I thought it was a touchdown," Harry said afterwards. "I am pretty sure everybody else thought it was a touchdown. It’s out of our control, out of my control.”
He added: “We all knew it was a touchdown. Everyone clearly saw it was a touchdown, but like I said it’s out of our control.”
Despite the missed call, and several others within the game, the Patriots fought hard until the end. Ultimately, they came up short when a pass from the 3-yard line fell incomplete on fourth-and-goal in the final two minutes.
“Like I said, it’s frustrating, but we didn’t hang our heads on it," Harry said. "We just kept moving forward. That is all you can do.”
The rookie first-round pick wasn't really involved much in the gameplan, playing just one snap in the first half, but he was out there in the fourth quarter during a critical spot in the red zone.
This potentially could be part of his role down the stretch and in the playoffs. He has a big body and seems to have a hard running style with the ball in his hands, so the red zone might be the best way to get something out of him.
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