A late-game penalty proved to be very costly for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
The New England Patriots took over possession with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after Zane Gonzalez missed a go-ahead, field-goal attempt from 45 yards. On the third play of New England’s final drive, Cam Newton ran 14 yards before he was leveled out of bounds by Isaiah Simmons. The Cardinals rookie linebacker was flagged for unnecessary roughness, which tacked 15 additional yards onto Newton’s run and put New England in the visitors’ territory.
The Patriots capitalized on the field position, running three more plays before Nick Folk drilled a 50-yard, game-winning field goal. The Cardinals’ loss marked their third defeat in four games.
DeAndre Hopkins was miffed about the call after the game and aired out his frustration on Twitter. One of said tweets, which since have been deleted, said, “Imagine this being called a late hit @NFL.”
You can check out Hopkins’ deleted tweets here.
One could argue the Cardinals were the beneficiaries of the game’s most questionable call, however. An 82-yard punt return touchdown from Gunner Olszewski in the third quarter was nullified due to a head-scratching blindside block penalty on Patriots rookie linebacker Anfernee Jennings. New England ultimately settled for a field goal on the ensuing drive.
Hopkins’ feelings are understandable, but the officials certainly weren’t the main reason the Cards fell in Foxboro.
