FOXBOROUGH — Bill Belichick had a masterful game plan when it came to facing Tom Brady Sunday night.
The Patriots defense frustrated Brady for a good portion of the game, as he finished 22-for-43 with 269 yards and did not throw a touchdown. New England surprised many by going toe-to-toe with the defending Super Bowl champs, but in the end it was a play or two short of coming away with a win in the 19-17 loss.
Part of that could have been two coaching decisions.
With 59 seconds remaining and trailing by two points, it was fourth-and-3 at the Tampa Bay 37-yard line. The Patriots and Belichick opted to kick a 56-yard field goal instead of going for it. Nick Folk ended up by barely missing the kick, as the ball hit the left upright. Not only was it a 56-yard kick, it was also in rainy conditions.
The Patriots could gave gone for it, as even if Folk made the kick, Brady still would have had the ball with just under a minute to work with.
So, did Belichick consider going for it and not kicking the field goal?
“I mean, not really,” he said after the game.
Belichick had another questionable decision at the end of the first half, too.
With just over two minutes left, it was third-and-17 on the Patriots’ 41-yard line. A double-pass was called, but Brandon Bolden was stopped two yards short of the first down at the Tampa Bay 44-yard line. After coming out like they were going to go for it, the two-minute warning came. Then coming out of that, the punt team came on the field and took a delay of game penalty.
Jake Bailey’s kick ended up with the Buccaneers starting on their own 5-yard line with 1:49 to go. That was more than enough time for Brady and the Bucs to march down the field and kick a field goal at the very end of the half.
The Patriots still led 7-6 at the break, but being aggressive and going for it on fourth-and-2 in Tampa Bay territory could have given New England more points and not allowed Brady and the Bucs to get the ball.
While hindsight is 20/20, looking back Belichick may wish he was little more aggressive in both situations, especially going against Brady.
