Jakobi Meyers held himself accountable Sunday after the New England Patriots’ gut-wrenching 30-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Really, what else could the Patriots receiver do after such a dumbfounding decision on the game’s final play?
“Let’s be clear: We appreciate the fact that he manned up, stood at the locker, answered the questions, accepted accountability. No doubt about that. Mad love to him. I’m sure the future will be brighter,” Stephen A. Smith said Monday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “That might be the dumbest play we’ve seen in NFL history. And your name is written all over it.”
Meyers received a downfield lateral from running back Rhamondre Stevenson with zeros on the clock and the score tied 24-24. From there, chaos ensued.
Meyers chucked the ball across the field toward Mac Jones, only to be picked off by Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones, who then trucked over the Patriots quarterback en route to a walk-off touchdown.
“When we think about all-time bloopers, you can come up with anything you want. You can come up with the butt fumble with Mark Sanchez. You can come up with a few things,” Smith said. “You can’t come up with something dumber than what we saw (Sunday).”
The mistake was inexcusable and could have huge implications as the Patriots scratch and claw for an AFC playoff berth. It’s also perhaps representative of a bigger problem in New England, where the offensive coaching has been suspect this season, to say the least.
“Mistakes happen,” Smith said. “What we haven’t seen is something that dumb. There’s no way around it.”
