It’s rare for one singular play to swing the result of an entire game in the NFL, and that held true in the Patriots 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. In the fourth quarter of the defeat, however, New England went for it twice on fourth down - decisions that both fans and media have since critiqued.
With just over 13 minutes left to play in the final frame, quarterback Mac Jones led the Patriots on a 10-play, 58-yard drive that landed them at Philadelphia's 17-yard line. On 4th-and-3, Belichick elected to go for it and keep the drive alive instead of kicking a 34-yard field goal to cut the Eagles' lead to five.
He has no regrets on that decision, he told WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on Monday morning:
“Fourth and three, down by eight (22-14), I don’t have any regrets on that one.”
Two drives later, however, now down five with just over two minutes to go, the team went for it once again on fourth down - this time with a long 17 yards to go. The head coach admitted that that one might have been a mistake:
“Fourth and 17 looking back on it, we had three timeouts, might have punted that one,” Belichick explained. “I mean, I don’t know how much field position we would have gained but that fourth and 17 after the delay, that was tough."
He continued: “We had our chances at the end there, you know, the penalty makes it a three-point game, so we’d be playing for a field goal at the end, but the two-point conversion was nullified, so then it’s a touchdown game. So obviously we had to play for a touchdown there at the end.”
Ultimately, it was an abundance of mistakes that led to New England's last-minute loss to the reigning NFC champions. The Patriots committed seven penalties for a total of 50 yards - including an offsides on a would-be sack of Jalen Hurts and a holding on a would-be successful two-point conversion that would have cut the lead to three. The club also turned the ball over twice on offense - both of which led to Philadelphia scores.
Belichick also spoke about Tom Brady, the Dolphins coming to Foxborough next Sunday night, and more on Monday’s edition of the Greg Hill Show. You can listen to the full interview here.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
