New England Patriots Take Advantage Of A Controversial Call

New England Patriots Take Advantage Of A Controversial Call

The New England Patriots were on the receiving end of a favorable decision on Sunday as the team was given an unanticipated victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns led the Patriots by five points with 1:01 remaining in the game. A touchdown was needed by New England to win the game. Following a recovery of an onside kick by New England, Tom Brady sent the ball deep into the end zone towards Josh Boyce. With Leon McFadden blanketing the play, the pass of Brady sailed over the head of Boyce. It would have set up a second down and ten with fifteen seconds to go in the game, which would require the New England Patriots to cover thirty yards into the end zone.

However, a flag was thrown by an end zone official for pass interference by McFadden in the end zone.

Although there was contact in the play, it was incidental. The pass interference should have been called at the six-yard line and not in the end zone. However, the contact at this point was not considered full. The flag thrown was a last-minute prayer that is not defensible.

Steve Tasker said the call was horrible and hinted at the possibility that it made up for a non-call last Monday in the game of New England with the Carolina Panthers. However, that non-call in the Monday game had no bearing in the latest game of the New England Patriots.

New England was able to take the lead and defended against Cleveland before they won 27-26.

If the flag was not thrown, the Patriots were thirty yards from the end zone and will have the opportunity to get a touchdown. However, the call allowed the New England Patriots to move forward by thirty yards with thirty-five seconds to go in the game.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Sunday December 08 2013, 10:39 PM EST. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0