Belicheck’s Decision Costs Patriots

T Lamont — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:36:22 +0000

2 minutes left in the 4th quarter. 4th and 2. Your team up by 6 points. Ball at your own 28 yard line. What do you do?

Conventional football wisdom says that you punt the ball. But Bill Belicheck proved that he is far from conventional.

Belicheck made the controversial call for the New England Patriots to go for the 4th down conversion. The Patriots turned the ball over on downs, and the Indianapolis Colts went on to score the game winning touchdown (and extra-point conversion) to win the Sunday night showdown, 35-34.

The choice to go for the 4th down conversion will be scrutinized for some time. An average punt would have forced Peyton Manning and the Colts (9-0) to move the ball 60 to 70 yards to score a touchdown. Instead, they inherited the ball on the New England 29 yard line. And within 4 plays, Manning had his team celebrating in the end zone.

The Patriots had a 34-21 lead with only 4 minutes left in the game. But the New England defense provided little resistance as Indianapolis marched 48 yards in less than 2 minutes to close the gap to 34-28. The Colts then faked an attempt at an onside kick, instead booting the ball out of the New England endzone. On their ensuing possession, the Patriots gained 8 yards on 3 downs - setting on the game-changing play.

Manning led the Colts on two touchdown drives in the last 4 minutes of the game.

Both Manning (28-44, 327 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT) and Tom Brady (29-42, 375 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) had big games for their teams, although Brady’s game was much more effective and efficient. Manning had several misconnections with his receivers, and he tossed two interceptions early in the second half that turned the tide in favor of the Patriots.

But Manning held tough and battled through each setback that he and the Colts encountered. To open the 4th quarter, Randy Moss (9 rec., 179 yards, 2 TD) caught a 5-yard TD pass which put the Patriots up 31-14. The Colts came right back as rookie wide receiver Pierre Garcon was on the grabbed a 29 yard TD receptions on and in-and-out pattern which fooled cornerback Leigh Bodden. This brought the Colts within 10 points, 31-21.

It was Colts’ receiver Reggie Wayne (10 rec., 126 yards, 2 TD) who made the final touchdown for Indianapolis, leaving only 13 seconds on the clock.

The loss puts the Patriots (6-3) at a disadvantage in the battle for home field in the AFC playoff picture. At 9-0, the Colts are one of two undefeated teams (the New Orleans Saints being the other) remaining in the NFL.

Ball or Nuthin' » Bill Belicheck

Belicheck’s Decision Costs Patriots