If only there were mulligans in professional football.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss named Cam Newton’s fumble against the Buffalo Bills as the play the New England Patriots would like to take back from the 2020 NFL season to date. Newton’s costly fumble in the Week 8 matchup sealed New England’s loss to Buffalo, and created perhaps the biggest “what-if?” scenario of the Patriots’ year so far.
“If the ball was in the quarterback’s left hand or simply better protected, the Patriots at least would have tied the Week 8 game with a short field goal (if not win it) late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots’ record would then possibly be flipped to 5-4, and they would be 3-0 in division play. That marked the third game this season the Patriots had lost in the fourth quarter when trailing by one score with a chance to win.”
The Patriots won their two ensuing games and seemingly clawed their back into the race for the AFC East title. They trail the Bills by two games after Week 10 and have time to close the gap even further.
How long the sting of Newton’s fumble lingers likely will depend on how the rest of the Patriots’ season transpires, but it’s hard to argue with Reiss’ assertion that New England would like to have it back.
