Patriots Blasted by NFL Twitter for 'Dumbest' Play Ever in Walk-Off Loss to Raiders
The New England Patriots fell to the Las Vegas Raiders 30-24 on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium and dropped to 7-7 on the season, which is just outside of the AFC playoff picture with three weeks remaining.
But it wasn't the loss alone that sent New England fans into a tizzy, it was the way Bill Belichick's squad lost the game.
After the Raiders managed to tie the game at 24 with 32 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Patriots got the ball back with a chance to win the game. On third-and-10 at their own 45-yard line with three seconds remaining, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed to the Las Vegas 32-yard line before lateraling the ball to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
Meyers then tried to lateral the ball to quarterback Mac Jones, but his pass was caught by Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones, who bowled over Jones and rushed into the end zone for the winning touchdown.
Had Stevenson or Meyers went down, the game would have gone to overtime, where the Patriots would have had more of a chance to win. Instead, NFL Twitter is blasting the Patriots for arguably the "dumbest" play ever:
A lot has gone wrong for the Patriots this season, but nothing else has been quite like what we witnessed on Sunday.
That said, the Patriots offense didn't play well the entire game. Jones completed just 13-of-31 passes for 112 yards as he struggled to move the ball downfield. Stevenson was the only bright spot with 172 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Had the Patriots won, they would have locked themselves into a three-way tie with the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins at the back end of the AFC playoff picture. Instead, they're a game behind both at eight in the AFC and face an uphill battle to secure a postseason berth over the last three weeks of the season.
New England will face the Cincinnati Bengals (10-4), Dolphins (8-6) and Buffalo Bills (11-3) to close the season.
Tom Brady, Bucs Stun NFL Twitter With 'Total Meltdown' in Loss to Joe Burrow, Bengals
The story of Tom Brady's career will include countless chapters of individual and team brilliance.
Sunday's second half will not be one of those chapters.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemed to be in cruise control with a 17-0 lead at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. And then the visitors ripped off 34 straight points and left Raymond James Stadium with a 34-23 victory.
Cincinnati has won six in a row and is now in first place in the AFC North at 10-4. Tampa Bay is somehow still in first place in the abysmal NFC South at 6-8, but it is 1-3 in the last four and trending in the wrong direction ahead of the season's final push.
While this was billed as a potential passing-of-the-torch game between Tom Brady and Joe Burrow, the story was Tampa Bay's four turnovers in one of the worst halves of football an offense could possibly play. The turnover-fueled collapse opened the door for the comeback and drew plenty of reaction on social media:
It looked like Tampa Bay may have turned the corner during a first half that saw Brady throw touchdowns to Russell Gage and Chris Godwin while Carlton Davis III picked off Burrow.
However, this is what happened in the second half:
- Tampa Bay botches punt or fake punt snap; Bengals turn it into a field goal
- Brady throws an interception to Tre Flowers; Burrow throws a touchdown to Tee Higgins
- Brady loses a fumble on a sack; Burrow throws a touchdown to Tyler Boyd
- Brady fumbles on handoff exchange to Leonard Fournette; Burrow throws a touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase
- Brady throws an interception to Germaine Pratt
Just like that, the Bengals were ahead by double digits and never looked back.
Tampa Bay will look to get back on track on Christmas Day against an Arizona Cardinals team that is missing Kyler Murray, but Sunday's loss will surely linger.
Cardinals' Colt McCoy Out vs. Broncos with Concussion; Replaced by Trace McSorley
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy suffered a concussion in Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos and was replaced by third-string quarterback Trace McSorley, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
McCoy appeared to suffer the injury in the third quarter after taking a knee to the head while being tackled.
McCoy completed 13-of-21 passes for 78 yards and one interception before exiting.
The 36-year-old had been listed on the injury report earlier this week after sustaining some ailments in a Monday Night Football loss to the New England Patriots.
Sunday's game against Denver marked McCoy's third start of the season. He's playing in place of starting quarterback Kyler Murray, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Monday's game against New England.
McCoy also started a Nov. 13 win over the Los Angeles Rams and a Nov. 21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers while Murray was sidelined with a hamstring ailment. In those two starts, he completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 456 yards and one touchdown against one interception.
Entering for Murray in Monday's loss to the Patriots, McCoy completed 27-of-40 passes for 246 yards and one interception.
McSorley had appeared in just three games this season before entering on Sunday. Before joining the Cardinals, he spent the first two seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, which selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
The Cardinals will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose to the Broncos.
Dolphins' Tyreek Hill Promises He'll 'Never Play Like That Again' After Loss vs Bills
By his own lofty standards, Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill had a relatively run-of-the-mill game during Saturday's 32-29 loss against the Buffalo Bills, catching nine passes for 69 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets.
But for Hill, it wasn't enough:
Hill is in the midst of an epic season, with 109 catches for 1,529 yards and seven touchdowns. His addition this offseason has made the Dolphins one of the most explosive offenses in football.
But the stats only truly matter if they accompany wins, and at 8-6, the Dolphins now find themselves in a fight to qualify for the postseason. Perhaps that was the source of Hill's consternation.
NFL Playoff Picture 2022-23: Updated AFC, NFC Standings After Week 15 SNF
It's been said that history repeats itself.
Unfortunately, that includes dubious history.
That's where Matt Ryan enters the chat.
On Saturday night, Ryan found himself on the wrong end of the largest comeback in NFL history.
The Indianapolis Colts blew a 33-0 lead to the Minnesota Vikings, ultimately losing 39-36.
That kind of collapse is tough on its surface, but for Ryan, it's a bit of déjà vu because he was also the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons when they fumbled a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI and lost.
Fast forward to Saturday night and Ryan witnessed another historic comeback by an opponent.
With that, the Colts fell further in the standings in the AFC South, where the Tennessee Titans rank No. 1.
Elsewhere, the Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-3, giving room for the Cincinnati Bengals to move to No. 1 in the AFC North, while the Buffalo Bills clinched the playoffs and the Vikings and San Francisco 49ers clinched the playoffs and their divisions.
Week 15, as it does most of the time, provided clarity for the NFL's playoff picture, so here's a look at how things stand in the AFC and NFC after Sunday's slate of games.
AFC Standings
1. Buffalo Bills (11-3)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (11-3)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (10-4)
4. Tennessee Titans (7-7)
5. Baltimore Ravens (9-5)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)
7. Miami Dolphins (8-6)
8. New England Patriots (7-7)
9. New York Jets (7-7)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-8)
11. Las Vegas Raiders (6-8)
12. Cleveland Browns (6-8)
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8)
14. Indianapolis Colts (4-9-1)
15. Denver Broncos (4-10)*
16. Houston Texans (1-12-1)*
* denotes team that has been eliminated from playoff contention
NFC Standings
1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-1)
2. Minnesota Vikings (11-3)
3. San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
5. Dallas Cowboys (10-4)
6. New York Giants (9-5-1)
7. Washington Commanders (7-7-1)
8. Seattle Seahawks (7-7)
9. Detroit Lions (7-7)
10. Green Bay Packers (5-8)
11. Carolina Panthers (5-9)
12. New Orleans Saints (5-9)
13. Atlanta Falcons (5-9)
14. Los Angeles Rams (4-9)
15.Arizona Cardinals (4-9)*
16. Chicago Bears (3-10)*
* denotes team that has been eliminated from playoff contention
After the four big early games on Sunday's NFL schedule featuring the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, the playoffs are starting to take focus.
On the table before the action started Sunday was the opportunity for the Chiefs to clinch the AFC West and the Cowboys' chance to clinch a playoff berth.
The Chiefs were tested by the Houston Texans and had to go to overtime to get the 30-24 win, but that victory moved them to 11-3 and effectively clinched the AFC West.
That's seven straight AFC West titles for the Chiefs and eight consecutive playoff berths.
They are rolling just in time for the playoffs and look to be solid Super Bowl contenders, despite losing Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason.
Dallas, however, lost 40-34 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in OT.
Trevor Lawrence's performance (318 passing yards, four passing TDs) to overcome a 27-10 deficit kept the Jags alive in the AFC South race.
For their part, the Cowboys were still able to secure a playoff berth, so it will be interesting to see how that could affect the desire or need to sign Odell Beckham Jr. in the very near future.
Philly took care of business in its 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears. The Eagles already clinched with their win over the New York Giants, but now it doesn't look like anyone's catching them for No. 1 in the NFC and there's a great chance that they finish with the best record in the league.
The Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 32-29 on Saturday, but with the win, they clinched their fourth straight playoff berth.
Thursday Night Football saw the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-13 and clinch the NFC West title.
Minnesota clinched the NFC North title with their comeback win, improving to 11-3.
All told, the best teams extended their dominance, while the Cowboys faltered.
It remains to be seen if they can bounce back and get on a strong enough run to take them to the Super Bowl.
In "did you see that?" news, the Las Vegas Raiders had the wildest walk-off 30-24 win over the Patriots after a botched lateral by Jakobi Meyers to avoid overtime went to Chandler Jones, who ran it the other way back to the house.
It was one of the wildest finishes in recent memory.
The Detroit Lions beat the Jets 20-17, the Denver Broncos nabbed a 24-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the L.A. Chargers got the 17-14 victory over the Titans and the Bengals were down 14-3 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at halftime, but rallied to finish 34-23 to move to 10-4.
As football fans get ready for Week 16, there are already four teams eliminated from the playoffs: Houston, Chicago, Arizona and Denver.
There are five teams in the AFC that would be in if the season ended today (Cincinnati, Tennessee, Baltimore, Los Angeles Chargers and Miami) and seven on the bubble (New England, New York Jets, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis).
For the NFC, there are three teams (Tampa Bay, Washington and New York Giants) that would get their ticket stamped based on Sunday and seven on the bubble (Seattle, Detroit, Green Bay, Carolina, New Orleans, Atlanta and L.A. Rams).
Titans' Ryan Tannehill Returns After Being Carted off with Ankle Injury vs. Chargers
Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers did not get off to an ideal start for the Tennessee Titans.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was carted off with an injury during the first quarter, per Jonathan Jones of CBS. The setback was deemed an ankle injury, and it put rookie Malik Willis temporarily under the spotlight.
However, the starter returned in a rather surprising development during the second quarter.
Tannehill missed Tennessee's Week 8 win over the Houston Texans and Week 9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with an ankle injury earlier this season.
The Titans didn't ask Willis to do much in those games, as he attempted a combined 26 passes as the team looked to rely on Derrick Henry and the rushing attack as much as possible. The rookie has completed just 41.2 percent of his passes for 157 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception as a thrower this year.
Numbers like that surely don't inspire confidence, and the Titans are suddenly far from a lock to win the AFC South.
The Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and will be just one game back if the Chargers defeat the Titans. Jacksonville and Tennessee also face each other to end the season in Week 18.
Prior to this season, Tannehill has been durable of late.
He appeared in all 17 games last season and all 16 games in 2020 while helping lead his team to the playoffs both years. He may not be the long-term answer at quarterback for the franchise after it selected Willis in the 2022 NFL draft, but he is likely its best chance at competing in the playoffs this season.
That is what made his return to Sunday's game such a welcome development for a team looking to make a final push into the postseason.
Zach Wilson Called Out by NFL Twitter as Jets Lose to Lions with Mike White Injured
Zach Wilson's short NFL career has been a siren song for the New York Jets. It's hard to ignore the tantalizing upside and ability, but behind that facade awaits a rocky shore.
Sunday was the latest wreck. Wilson's struggles contributed to New York's 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions, although the defense's inability to protect a late lead didn't help.
Still, Wilson and the Jets had 1:49 left on the clock late in the fourth quarter and all three timeouts, only needing to get into field-goal range to force overtime. Instead, he took two sacks on the final drive and could only get the Jets to the Detroit 40-yard line, setting up a 58-yard field-goal attempt for Greg Zuerlein that was missed short.
On the day, Wilson finished 18-of-35 for 317 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, taking four sacks.
While there was plenty of blame to go around in the loss, NFL Twitter honed in on the second-year quarterback:
The Jets are floundering. Sunday's loss was their fifth in the past seven games, dropping them to 7-7 on the season. Their odds of reaching the postseason are fading, and fast. Contrast that to the Lions (7-7), who have won six of their last seven and suddenly are firmly in the NFC playoff mix.
Some of the Jets' turbulence comes from the all-or-nothing play of Wilson, who can absolutely take your breath away on consecutive plays for completely different reasons. Sunday was the perfect microcosm of his career in that regard:
Wilson undoubtedly has more talent than Mike White, who missed Sunday's game with fractured ribs. But there was a reason the Jets turned to White as the starter and moved Wilson to the third-stringer or inactive role for the past three games.
The Jets seemed to have more stability on offense with White under center. Wilson offers far more chaos.
On Sunday, a steady hand may have been enough to earn a win. But it's hard to know where Wilson will steer the ship on a weekly basis, and this latest game wasn't the exception.
Cowboys Mocked by Twitter After Collapse vs. Jaguars, Dak Prescott's Pick-6 in OT
The Dallas Cowboys squandered the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with a 40-34 overtime loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, blowing a 21-7 halftime lead to drop to 10-4 on the season.
Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 23 of 30 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions. His second pick was returned for a game-winning touchdown by Rayshawn Jenkins in overtime.
While the offense could have been better, the Dallas defense turned in an abysmal performance against second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jags offense, allowing 503 total yards.
Lawrence completed 27 of 42 passes for 318 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in addition to rushing for 21 yards on three carries.
Zay Jones led all Jags receivers with six catches for 109 yards and three scores, while Travis Etienne Jr. rushed for 103 yards on 19 carries.
After the game, NFL Twitter roasted the Cowboys for their second-half collapse:
The Cowboys will still likely make the playoffs, but they're essentially out of the NFC East title race as the Philadelphia Eagles sit atop the division with a 13-1 record following a win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The Dallas offense and defense have a lot to figure out moving forward, especially if the Cowboys want to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2018 season.
The Cowboys wrap up the regular season with games against the Eagles and then road games at the Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
Justin Fields' Brilliance Has Fans Thrilled for Bears' Future Despite Loss vs. Eagles
Justin Fields continues to provide the Chicago Bears with a glimpse into the future, albeit in a losing effort.
The Philadelphia Eagles hung on for a 25-20 victory at Soldier Field in Chicago.
A breakdown in coverage by the Eagles secondary allowed Fields to hit Byron Pringle for a 35-yard touchdown pass to bring Chicago to within one score with two minutes, 43 seconds on the clock.
Philadelphia recovered the ensuing onside kick, though, and killed off the remaining time to secure their 13th win.
Fields finished 14-of-21 for 152 yards and two touchdowns while carrying the ball 15 times for 95 yards.
The Bears' 3-11 record and the six sacks the Eagles collected show how far Chicago still has to go. Between Fields' improvement and the roughly $122 million in projected salary-cap space it can spend for 2023, the franchise can potentially execute a significant turnaround.
Sunday's game was also notable for Fields setting a single-season rushing record for a Bears quarterback and becoming the third QB to reach 1,000 rushing yards. After Week 14, he has run for exactly 1,000 yards.
As tough as this season has been, ask almost any Bears fan and they'll probably say they're more optimistic about the franchise's long-term direction than they were before the year kicked off. That's almost entirely down to Fields because Chicago might have a special talent at quarterback for the first time in a long time.
For now, things won't get any easier for Fields and the Bears in Week 16 as they host the 11-3 Buffalo Bills.