This might be the weirdest thing to happen in the saga of the Patriots-Jets rivalry since Bill Belichick resigned as “HC of the NYJ.”
The Patriots and Jets were tied 20-20 after regulation, and the Patriots won the coin toss. However, Matthew Slater told referee Clete Blakeman that the Patriots wanted to kick.
Why on earth would the Patriots not want the ball? Well, a look at the dialogue between Blakeman and Slater might partially explain things.
Here is the transcript of the coin toss at MetLife. Seems like Slater just made a mistake. Game-changer. pic.twitter.com/ajuyE0u2Ml — Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 27, 2015
It’s a little odd that Blakeman would ask Slater if the Patriots wanted to kick. In the heat of competition, it’s understandable if Slater assumed Blakeman asked him if the Patriots wanted the ball and just said “Yes.”
It’s doubtful that the Patriots wanted to kick. It would have made more sense for Blakeman to ask Slater if the Patriots wanted the ball or maybe just asked him straight up what the Patriots wanted to do.
But that exchange probably won’t be remembered. This game will go down in history as a game in which the Patriots lost a game that could cost them home-field advantage in the playoffs because they screwed up the coin toss in overtime.