How Patriots’ Bill O’Brien Felt About Ezekiel Elliott Postgame Critique

Ezekiel Elliott strayed from the tight-lipped norm after the New England Patriots were handed a 27-17 defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

But at least one of his coaches didn’t take issue with his opinion.

“I think we could have went a little faster, just definitely being down three scores in that last quarter,” Elliott told reporters in reference to New England’s offense, per NESN.com’s Zack Cox. “But I don’t know. It’s not up to me.”

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Many took that to be a critique of Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. O’Brien, however, told reporters Tuesday he agreed with Elliott’s assessment.

“We were trying very hard to get into a tempo, but we just weren’t able to do it,” O’Brien told reporters, per the Boston Globe’s Khari Thompson. “I would say that Zeke’s on the money. We’re trying to go faster there. We didn’t get it done. We didn’t do a good enough job of going faster. So put that one on me.”

O’Brien referenced New England’s possession which started on its own 1-yard line with 3:54 remaining. After a Bailey Zappe quarterback sneak provided some breathing room, the Patriots ran the second play of the possession 36 seconds later and used another 39 seconds before their third-down play. At the time, the hosts trailed 27-17.

The Patriots ultimately failed on fourth-and-4 from their 7-yard line with 2:35 remaining. The Chiefs then kneeled the ball four times and sealed the victory.

Elliott and the Patriots will travel to the Denver Broncos for a Week 16 game on Christmas Eve. The Chiefs will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day.