The New England Patriots suffered one of their worst losses in the history of their franchise Sunday night against the Las Vegas Raiders.
On the final play of regulation during a 24-24 tie, New England running back, Rhamondre Stevenson, took a run play up the middle and lateraled the football to wide receiver, Jakobi Meyers. Meyers then carelessly threw the football backwards across the field, which Raiders outside linebacker, Chandler Jones intercepted and returned to the end zone as the clock hit triple zeros to win the game for Vegas, 30-24.
You have to see it to believe it.
What just happened?? The @Raiders win on the final play!! #NEvsLV pic.twitter.com/cmKNUuab1k
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2022
In the postgame interview following the costly blunder, Meyers said, “I thought I saw Mac [Jones] open, I didn’t see Chandler Jones at the time. Just thought he was open, tried to get it to him and let him try to make a play with it, but the score was tied. So like I said, I should have went down for real.”
Meyers was attempting to make magic happen by lateraling the football all the way to the end zone on the game’s final play, but instead, he gave the Raiders an early Christmas gift and helped them win. As a lifelong Patriots fan, this is an all-time low for me as a fan. Losing that way is just inexcusable. (RELATED: Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Tyler Lockett To Undergo Hand Surgery Putting His Season In Jeopardy)
This play could seriously be the reason why players like Meyers and some coaches on New England’s staff lose their jobs in the offseason.
If the Patriots miss the postseason this year, this will be the game that haunts them.