New England Patriots fans may have a bone to pick with referee Ron Tolbert after his unbelievable ruling Sunday afternoon.
The Patriots fell to the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday in one of the worst losses a playoff-hopeful could imagine. The 30-24 verdict left fans shocked, but was preceded by another moment that left people shaking their heads in disbelief.
After the Patriots scored 21 consecutive points to take a 24-17 lead over the Raiders, fans in New England and Las Vegas were subject to one of the more unbelievable replay reviews the NFL has seen in a long time.
With just 0:32 remaining in regulation, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr connected with wide receiver Keelan Cole in the end zone for a touchdown — depending on the interpretation of a replay review. Cole, who caught the ball over Patriots rookie Marcus Jones, certainly got one foot in bounds but appeared to have the toe of his left cleat land out of bounds. The ruling on the field was a touchdown, and after review, it somehow stood.
With the play standing, the Raiders kicked the extra point to tie things up. Not the worst thing in the world for the Patriots, who could just run out the final half minute and play for overtime against one of the worst late-game teams in the NFL. Right?
Wrong.
On the final play of regulation, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers inexplicably started lateralling the ball in hopes to pull off a final-play touchdown. They did pull it off, but for the wrong team. Meyers heaved the ball backward toward Mac Jones when Raiders linebacker Chandler Jones intercepted it, steamrolled Jones, and rumbled down the field into the end zone for a touchdown.
Of course, the replay review had nothing to do with the final play, but everything could have been avoided should Tolbert’s crew not awarded the Raiders a touchdown they pretty clearly didn’t deserve.
Surely the whole ordeal will be dealt with level-headedly.
