Instead, the Jets got the win and now find themselves in the driver's seat heading into the final week of the season. More likely, there was some confusion over the call, and as the Patriots' offense struggled to get going most of the game, perhaps they felt they could get a stop and make it far enough down the field for a game-winning field goal. Perhaps the Patriots let the Jets win in hopes of setting up a potentially easier playoff bracket in the AFC. There's been speculation that the Patriots would rather face the Jets - a solid team that's had a fairly easy schedule - over the Steelers, a very good team that's had bad injury luck. Instead, the Steelers lost to the Ravens, and a Jets win puts them ahead of the Steelers for a Wild Card spot. If both teams won, the situation would carry over to Week 17. Slater said the decision to kick off was clear, but they were confused over which direction they were going:Īs some have speculated, did the Patriots also intentionally sabotage their own efforts to win the game? Entering Sunday, a Jets loss and a Steelers win would clinch a playoff victory for the Steelers. The result immediately called the Patriots' decision to kick off into question. The Jets then easily moved the ball down the field, with Ryan Fitzpatrick hitting Eric Decker for the game-winning touchdown moments later. Patriots' captain Matthew Slater, who was at midfield for the coin toss, seemed confused, asking, "Hey, we won, don't we get to choose?" Instead, his argument seemed to be ignored, and the Jets received the ball on their preferred side. In NFL overtime, the first team to score a touchdown wins, meaning that the Patriots were gambling the Jets wouldn't score despite having first possession.įurthermore, the ref then asked which side the Jets wanted to receive the ball. The Patriots won the coin-flip and, oddly, decided to kick off instead of receive. The Patriots tied the game at 20 with less than two minutes to go, eventually stopping the Jets to force overtime.ĭuring the coin-flip to decide possession at the start of overtime, a bizarre situation occurred. However, the game was not without drama, particularly down the stretch. The New York Jets beat the New England Patriots 26-20 in overtime in a huge game that kept the Jets' playoff hopes alive.
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