Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer took responsibility for their performances against the Chiefs
"When you get called to go, you got to be ready to go."
In the Patriots’ 26-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, quarterback Jarrett Stidham took responsibility for some offensive mishaps against the reining Super Bowl champs – most notably, the two interceptions he threw on passes intended for wide receivers Julian Edelman and Damiere Byrd.
“Obviously I take full – those were both on me,” Stidham said after the game. “I got to place the ball better to Jules and then the one to Damiere [Byrd] over the top, just trying to give him a chance and I just got to do a better job of laying it out there and letting him go get it. But, just trying to do my best to go out there and execute the plays that were called. Unfortunately, I ended up throwing two interceptions.”
Stidham made no excuses for his performance on Monday, which included throwing 5-of-13 for 60 yards with a touchdown and the two interceptions. He went on to explain that the second intercepted pass to Byrd, specifically, was not because of a change in his decision-making process or wanting to gain yards quickly. It was simply him trying to get a read against a solid Chiefs defense.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that there was a different decision making process in that sort of situation,” he explained. “At the end of the day, I’m just trying to move the chains and try to get our offense down the field to score some points. If a read tells me to throw it down the field like that, than that’s what I’ll take. If not, go somewhere else. I was trying to follow reads and get us an opportunity to score some points.”
Jarrett Stidham Live Postgame Press Conference https://t.co/cyAo4nUN0B
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 6, 2020
Going into the game, Stidham said he felt like he and teammate Brian Hoyer were prepared to suit up against the Chiefs.
“I think there was definitely some readjustment involved, but at the end of the day, Hoyer and I both know the offense, the game plan and so forth. We just sat down with Josh [McDaniels] and [quarterbacks coach] Jedd [Fisch] and just went through things even further and making sure we were good on everything.”
“That’s what the job is,” Hoyer said.”When you get called to go, you got to be ready to go.”
Yet, Hoyer had a rough go. He was 15-0f-24 for 130 yards, throwing an interception and zero touchdowns. During the second quarter with 13 seconds left in the half, Hoyer had a chance to either tie the game or take a lead – but was sacked by Frank Clark without any timeouts left.
“Josh [McDaniels] said to me in the helmet, ‘Let’s take a shot and no bad plays.’ I looked, knew I was in the pocket, so I didn’t want to intentionally ground,” Hoyer said. “I just have to do a better job of throwing over someone’s head.”
He held himself just as accountable for making costly mistakes.
“I cost us at least six points,” he added. “We knew it was going to be a tough game that was going to go for sixty minutes. … Definitely missed opportunities there.
After close to three uninspiring quarters, Hoyer was benched – leaving Stidham to take his place.
BLOOD IN THE WATER 🦈
📺: #NEvsKC on CBS pic.twitter.com/9gTACEEWw7
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 6, 2020
On his first drive of the evening, the backup QB found his shining moment. A minute or so into the fourth quarter, he dished a 4-yard pass to N’Keal Harry to solidify his first-career touchdown pass.
“N’Keal made a heck of a play back in the end zone, the guys up front were doing a great job, protection, run game, everything,” Stidham said. “It’s frustrating that he couldn’t pull out the win but, we can definitely learn and get better.”
After finding out that teammate Cam Newton was out against Chiefs due to a positive COVID-19 test result, Stidham said both he and the team had to prepare themselves for a rather peculiar game plan. That included not only Newton’s absence, but also a change in travel plans and a rescheduled game.
“Going into Saturday morning, when we found out about the situation, it was really trying to figure out not only football but mainly health and safety of everybody in the building. It was kind of a spur of the moment type thing where we had to switch some things around, do virtual meetings, and I thought we did a good job of adapting to the situation and making the most of it.”
Given the uncertainty of when Newton will return given his health, Stidham said he planned on going over film Monday night and looking at where he could improve. Come Tuesday, his focus will be on the Denver Broncos.
“Obviously, I always want to be out there on the field and it was good to get some wide reps in a game,” he said. “I’ll watch the film on the way back tonight and know where I can get better and see what I need to do in order to continue to grow as a person and as a player. To do whatever I can to help the team and put the team first. It was definitely good to get there but it was pretty frustrating not to get the win.”
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