Should Patriots Have Kicked Field Goal? Bill Belichick Explains Controversial Call
'Made the best decision we could at the time'
FOXBORO, Mass. — Did Bill Belichick make life unnecessarily hard on the Patriots late in their 25-20 loss to the Eagles?
Field goal/fourth-down calls have become increasingly problematic for New England’s normally situationally perfect head coach. And that trend continued in Sunday’s tough loss at Gillette Stadium.
With his team trailing by eight and facing a fourth-and-3 with 9:39 left, Belichick elected to not try a field goal from Philadelphia’s 17-yard line. The Patriots, who fought hard all night to come back from an early deficit, didn’t convert the fourth-down try and the Eagles kicked a field goal on their ensuing drive to go up by 11.
Obviously, had the Patriots just kicked a field goal the previous drive, it still would’ve been just a one-score game. Perhaps Belichick simply didn’t trust rookie kicker Chad Ryland.
Either way, he was asked about it after the game — and gave a predictable answer.
“I felt like it was the best decision for the team,” Belichick said.
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But that wasn’t his only controversial decision in the fourth quarter.
New England failed to convert a two-point try after scoring a touchdown to make it a five-point game with just under four minutes left. Then, after getting the ball back on a fumble recovery, the Patriots still trailed by five with 2:24 left and faced a fourth-and-12 from the Eagles’ 43-yard line. It would’ve been a long field goal attempt, of course, but a successful kick would’ve left the Patriots down by just two points. Instead, New England lined up to go for it on fourth down, committed a five-yard delay-of-game penalty and came up empty on fourth-and-17. The Patriots got the ball back one more time, but a potential game-winning drive ended at Philly’s 20-yard line after Kayshon Boutte couldn’t keep his feet in bounds in the final minute.
If you want to play this game, you could argue the Patriots should’ve kicked the extra point and then the field goal on the next drive. They then would’ve needed just a field goal to win the game instead of throwing to Boutte on fourth down. Plus, if you add the non-field goal attempt early in the fourth, you could say Belichick left 10 points on the field on a night when his team lost by five.
However, that would ignore a ton of context, and the Patriots couldn’t have assumed some of the late-game plays, like Jabrill Peppers’ huge forced fumble against Jalen Hurts.
“Made the best decision we could at the time,” Belichick said when asked whether he should’ve kicked more field goals. “Didn’t know we would be down there multiple times. Six minutes to go in the game. I don’t know. If we had kicked it, I’m sure you would be asking why didn’t we go for it.”
Well, he’s probably right about that one.
Ultimately, you could make arguments for and against some of Belichick’s fourth-down decisions in Sunday night’s game. But his decision to opt against a field goal try early in the fourth is a legitimate second-guess — whether he likes it or not.
The Patriots will look to rebound next Sunday night when they host the Miami Dolphins.
