Bill Belichick owned up to an error he committed in the New England Patriots’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Early in the fourth quarter of New England’s eventual 27-24 victory at SoFi Stadium, Belichick threw his red challenge flag after the Chargers were flagged for holding near their own goal line.
The coach thought the offending party was right tackle Storm Norton, who had yanked on outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy’s shoulder pads, and that the penalty occurred in the end zone, which would have resulted in a safety.
Norton, though, wasn’t the lineman penalized on the play. The flag was on guard Matt Feiler, who impeded Christian Barmore as the young defensive tackle split a double team. And Feiler’s hold took place in the field of play, not in the end zone.
Belichick’s challenge was unsuccessful, and the Patriots were docked a timeout.
“I saw the hold on Kyle,” Belichick explained Monday in a video conference. “I thought it happened in the end zone. I think it did happen in the end zone, on Norton. The foul was called on the guard. I didn’t really hear who the foul was on. I saw it on Norton; I thought it was on him, so obviously, that was a mistake that I made. …
“That’s my fault. I blew it.”
The Patriots had to burn another timeout to avoid a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty and their third after a post-whistle scuffle drained too much of the offensive play clock. They were out of timeouts with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t think we were clean on the (defensive) substitution,” Belichick explained. “And the offensive timeout, we didn’t get away from the pile and scrum after the play, and honestly there was no chance to get the play in before the 15-second cutoff, so we couldn’t get the play in.”
The Patriots wound up not needing those stoppages. A pick-six by safety Adrian Phillips gave them a seven-point lead with 10 minutes remaining, and Nick Folk capped a nearly seven-minute drive with a game-clinching field goal.
