'You got problems in this league with these refs'
The New England Patriots were hindered by a handful of questionable calls during their 25-22 victory over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Two of the most glaring instances took place on a first-half scoring drive by the Jets, and Patriots radio broadcaster Scott Zolak was not pleased with the officiating crew.
Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez was flagged for a defensive pass interference on third-and-9 from the New England 39-yard line. It gave the Jets a fresh set of downs and prompted Zolak to refer to the crew as “junk-ass refs.”
“Same thing every week,” Zolak said during the 98.5 The Sports Hub radio broadcast Sunday afternoon. “BS call. I saw high school games reffed better this year.”
Zolak and those at Gillette Stadium were irate just three plays later when linebacker Christian Ellis was flagged for his own pass interference penalty on third-and-3. Jets running back Breece Hall was out of bounds when the ball came his way.
“Horrible throw! Horrible route!” Zolak exclaimed. “You got problems in this league with these refs. Two horrible calls and one no-call.”
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers found Tyler Conklin on a 2-yard touchdown two plays after Elliss’ penalty set up New York at New England’s 2-yard line.
“Junk touchdown given to you by the refs of the National Football League,” Zolak said.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said he thought some of the officiating decisions were “questionable.” Fortunately for Mayo and company, New England put together a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives and claimed the Week 8 win.