Problems with the CBS game broadcast delayed kickoff of Sunday’s Patriots-Jets game by 10 minutes — and lingered even after the game began.
Head coach Bill Belichick said the teams did not have full replay capabilities for much of New England’s 10-3 win over New York at Gillette Stadium.
“We were limited on the replay,” Belichick said in a Monday morning video conference.
Asked whether those “technical issues,” as the in-stadium announcement termed them, persisted throughout the game, Belichick replied: “Yeah, pretty much. Scoreboard.”
“I don’t know,” he added. “I think it might have switched during the game. I’m not sure. You’d have to check with the guys in the booth on that. We had the scoreboard replay, and then I think we had replay after that up in the booth, but it seemed like it was limited, at least part of the game.”
Midway through the first quarter, Patriots linebacker Raekwon McMillan was penalized for running into the kicker on a Braden Mann punt. Replays showed McMillan may have gotten a hand on the ball, which would have negated the penalty, but Belichick declined to challenge the call.
“It was a close play, and I didn’t think it was worth it, so I didn’t challenge it,” the coach said.
Asked whether he received any explanation about the delay and ensuing complications, Belichick replied: “You should talk to the officials about that.”
The Patriots won the low-scoring defensive affair when rookie cornerback Marcus Jones returned a Mann punt 84 yards for a touchdown with five seconds remaining, giving New England its third consecutive victory and 14th in a row over the Jets.
Next up for the Patriots is a Thanksgiving night road game against the Minnesota Vikings this Thursday.
