Official Did the Right Thing on Jets’ Final Field Goal Attempt, NFL Says

The Patriots beat the Jets, so naturally controversy will follow.

New England escaped with a victory over New York Thursday night, 27-25, a win sealed when Patriots defensive end Chris Jones blocked a 58-yard field goal attempt by Jets kicker Nick Folk in the final seconds of play. But should he have had a shot at making a 53-yard attempt?

That was the question being asked in Jets circles Friday after NJ.com’s Dom Cosentino pointed out that an official stepped in on the final play and appeared to tell Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower to move from his position standing just above the Jets’ long-snapper.

Here’s a closer look at the play:

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*PLEASE SHARE* … HOLD UP DID YOU SEE THE REF SAVE N.E FROM GETTING A PENALTY FOR LINING UP OVER THE CENTER???? He should’ve just thrown the flag ARE YOU KIDDING ME? @NFL

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But apparently this is nothing new, and is done, at least as an excuse, in the name of player safety. NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino tweeted as much Friday.

In #Jets #Pats game that is a standard officiating mechanic. No different than pointing out LOS to wideout.

— Dean Blandino (@DeanBlandino) October 17, 2014

“What happened Thursday night seemed to be active intervention on the part of an official to prevent what, by rule, should have been a penalty,” Cosentino wrote. “Had Hightower stayed where he was, inside the shoulder pads of Purdum, Rule 9-1-3(a) calls for a five-yard penalty for illegal formation: “When Team A presents a punt, field-goal, or Try Kick formation, a Team B player, who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage, must have his entire body outside the snapper’s shoulder pads at the snap.

“But the official intervened instead, and immediately after Hightower got nudged, he moved outside Purdum’s shoulder pads, where he was lined up legally. Again: Why?”

You would think the Jets might be more frustrated with their inept red zone offense in the first half than the now-controversial final play. If indeed it were an egregious decision on the official, why didn’t the Jets bring it up in the wake of their loss? They only had the best view of the situation.

There are plenty of “whys” the Jets can ask themselves as they sit at 1-6. This isn’t one of them.

Vintage Jets whine.