With its high-priced announcers, pregame programs and elaborate production, ESPN’s Monday Night Football always brings the show to town. Turns out in Monday’s game at Gillette Stadium between the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, their game may have gotten in the way of the actual game. And potentially swayed its course.
Thanks to some day-after internet sleuthing (by a Buffalo Bills fan no less!) it appears that the interception Mac Jones threw early in the second quarter of the Pats’ loss to the Bears actually nicked the ESPN SkyCam wires, ultimately altering the ball’s trajectory.
The ball was picked off by rookie safety Jaquan Brisker (whom Mac had just had an awkward run-in with on a recent play). Brisker made an athletic, instinctive play to give Chicago possession on a throw that seemed ill-advised (and where Jones ultimately had DeVante Parker open further down field). On the Patriots’ next series of downs, head coach Bill Belichick chose to bench Jones, who’d been ineffective to that point, supplanting him with rookie Bailey Zappe. And the rest of the game, and potentially the New England Patriots season, is history.
The slight contact the ball seems to have made could have been challenged and reviewed by the Patriots, or even the NFL Replay Official had they noticed (hat tip to MassLive’s Chris Mason on the rulebook research). The NFL Rule Book states, “If a loose ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.” This would have given the Patriots the ball back, and taken away the INT that ultimately ended the night for Jones. And possibly his job as starter for the Patriots.
While it’s difficult to imagine how the game plays out much differently with the interception negated, fact remains this was a pivotal play in a game that later went sideways for New England. Perhaps it doesn’t change the outcome ultimately, but it’s still frustrating to see the technology that makes the at-home experience so rewarding get in the way and affect the game tangibly. Curious to see if ESPN makes any adjustments to its MNF technical setup going forward, or issues a statement about this.
For now…let the Pats Nation conspiracy theorists and excuse makers cry havoc!
UPDATE: ESPN has released a statement saying that the pass did not hit their wire.
