Bill Belichick doesn’t regret passing up field goals to go for it on 4th down
‘No’
Two New England Patriots drives faltered in the red zone with a turnover on downs in the AFC Championship Game. But Bill Belichick stands by his decision not to kick in the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ 20-18 loss to the Broncos.
When asked if he regrets not kicking field goals, Belichick simply said, “No.’’
On New England’s first fourth-down conversion attempt, Brady dropped back on a 4th-and-1 with six minutes left and threw to Julian Edelman behind the line of scrimmage. Edelman was tackled for a loss by Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib. Turnover on downs.
With 2:25 left in the fourth, Brady threw toward Rob Gronkowski, who was mobbed by a number of defenders, and the ball fell incomplete on 4th-and-6. Turnover on downs.
“There were a lot of big plays in the game. Any one of them probably could have made a bit of a difference,’’ Belichick said in a postgame press conference. “It’s such a fine line today between winning and losing that we all could’ve done just a little bit more, and it may have been a different result. But it wasn’t. So crash landing to the end of the season like it usually is in the National Football League.’’
Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski finished the game 2 for 2 on field goals, but missed a first-quarter extra-point attempt.
“I feel like I lost the game,“ Gostkowski told reporters after the game. “I feel sorry for myself, but I don’t expect people to feel sorry for me.’’
The Patriots finished 2 of 4 on fourth downs, as they converted their last two fourth down conversions on their final drive of the game, which resulted in a 4-yard touchdown catch by Gronkowski. Following the touchdown, the Patriots failed to complete a 2-point conversion, which led to a game-clinching kneel for Peyton Manning.
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Photos from the AFC Championship Game
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