Not everything went as planned for Mac Jones and the New England Patriots during their Week 14 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.
With just four seconds left in the half and on first-and-10, the Patriots pulled off a jaw-dropping blunder which made for a great reaction from Peyton Manning and Eli Manning during ESPN’s “ManningCast.”
“Let’s be smart,” Peyton said before the play unfolded.
Jones handed the ball off to running back Kevin Harris, who quickly dropped the ball and gave the Cardinals a shot at recovery with New England approaching a scoring opportunity before halftime — a questionable play call on the Patriots’ end.
“What in the world, what in the world,” Eli said.
While both provided what was likely an identical reaction to Patriots fans in real-time, the fumble didn’t prove to be costly.
Jones managed to recover the loose ball and his efforts were shortly rewarded. The six-play drive positioned placekicker Nick Folk to successfully drill a 51-yard field goal to put trim the Cardinals’ lead to 13-10 before the final seconds of the second quarter.
Harris, who had just two games and four attempts worth of NFL experience under his belt before the start of the contest, did deliver some memorable and valuable contributions. In the first quarter, Harris cleanly rushed for 14 yards to the endzone and scored his first-career touchdown off a handoff from Jones.
The Harris fumble served as just one of several attention-grabbing moments in an eventful contest between the Patriots and Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
