Patriots coach Bill Belichick defended his decisions on sending his offense instead of his field goal unit on the field in two critical fourth down situations in the fourth quarter of New England’s 25-20 loss to the Eagles on Sunday.
On 4th and 3 with 9:32 to play in regulation, quarterback Mac Jones attempted a pass to Ezekiel Elliott that fell incomplete. Then, after a replay review by officials on 4th and 11 from the Eagles’ 20 with 27 seconds remaining in the game, Jones’s pass to Kayshon Boutte was ruled incomplete, signaling a win for Philadelphia.
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Had Belichick elected to take field goals and converted them on both instances, New England would have won the game. However, when Belichick was asked about his decision on those two plays, he took a shot at the media in his response.
“Made the best decision we could at the time,” Belichick said. “If we’d kicked I’m sure you’d be asking why we didn’t go for it.”
New England (0-1) overcame an early 16-0 deficit and five offensive drives where the Patriots failed to score points. However, after a slow start, the Patriots cut the deficit to 16-14 at halftime and trailed 19-14 going into the fourth quarter.
The Patriots will return to action on Sunday night against the Dolphins.
