New England Patriots

Morning sports update: NFL officials explained why Bill Belichick couldn’t challenge controversial call vs. Chiefs

"There was no reviewable aspect of that play."

Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick during the Patriots-Chiefs game. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

By Hayden Bird

4 minutes to read

The Patriots lost to the Chiefs 26-10 on Monday night. Though New England was able to keep it close without starting quarterback Cam Newton (who was out after testing positive for COVID-19), turnovers and an inability to capitalize on chances proved costly.

The game itself was merely the end of a tiring road for New England, following the events of the previous days in which Newton and a Kansas City player had tested positive. The league ended up settling on a schedule that forced the Patriots to travel and play in the same day.

Looking ahead, New England faces Denver at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m.

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Tonight, the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm meet for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at 7 p.m., while the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat play Game 4 of the NBA Finals at 9 p.m.

The NFL’s explanation of the controversial non-fumble: In the second quarter of Monday’s game, the Chiefs faced a third and four in the second quarter on their own 42-yard line leading the Patriots 6-3. To that point, New England had managed to hang in the game despite an early Brian Hoyer interception.

On the play in question, New England edge rusher Chase Winovich beat Kansas City tackle Eric Fisher to get to Patrick Mahomes. Winovich latched onto Mahomes, but didn’t bring him down right away, allowing the Chiefs quarterback to bring the ball back and attempt to throw the ball away.

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Before he could do so, Mahomes had the ball stripped from his hands by another Patriots pass-rusher, Deatrich Wise. New England linebacker Shilique Calhoun snatched the ball out of the air and secured it before attempting to run the ball back downfield.

New England appeared to have recorded a major turnover in favorable field position, but the call — after confusion that extended to the broadcast booth — was a sack, with no turnover.

Following the play, the Chiefs quickly sent the special teams unit on the field (since it was now fourth down) and punted it away. In the moment, it seemed as if Bill Belichick had made a mistake by not throwing the challenge flag.

But after the game, officials were asked about the call, and if there had been a point where Belichick might have challenged the ruling.

According to the league, Mahomes was deemed to have been “in the grasp” of Winovich and was therefore sacked already, necessitating the play be blown dead by the official’s whistle. Here’s the wording of the clause amid the larger rule of roughing the passer, according to league:

The Referee must blow the play dead as soon as the passer is clearly in the grasp and control of any tackler behind the line, and the passer’s safety is in jeopardy.

NFL referee Tony Corrente also provided an explanation of why he made the ruling:

I felt that he was being controlled quite a bit prior to him actually going to the ground. And as he was being controlled, other players were coming in at him. And so with those other players baring down on him, a quarterback is considered in the grasp and his forward progress is considered stopped when I feel as though the player’s safety is being jeopardized. And that was the case in this instance. So, rather than allow him to get hit by a second and third player, we shut it down and considered it forward progress at that point.

As for whether or not Belichick could have challenged the ruling, Corrente pointed out that this was not possible.

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“No, because the play was shut down and stopped prior to the fumble occurring, or prior to him losing control of the football. There was no reviewable aspect of that play.”

Needless to say, Belichick was not happy with the officials’ ruling.

Trivia: According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Packers have opened the 2020 season by scoring at least 30 points in each game along with having no turnovers. It’s the second longest streak in history behind a previous Patriots team of the Belichick era. Which previous Patriots team has a longer streak?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: It was Alge Crumpler’s final season in the NFL and the only one he spent in New England.

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On this day: In 2001, David Beckham sent England to the World Cup with a stoppage time goal against Greece. It was one of the more dramatic qualifying moments in recent history, particularly given Beckham’s involvement.

Daily highlight: Jarrett Stidham’s first career touchdown pass in the NFL went to fellow 2019 draft pick N’Keal Harry.

Trivia answer: The 2010 Patriots

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Hayden Bird

Sports Staff

Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.

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