‘I blew it’: Bill Belichick admits fault in failed challenge vs. Chargers
"Thanks for pointing that out Mike, I appreciate it.”
Bill Belichick was willing to joke about his failed challenge in the fourth quarter of the Patriots‘ 27-24 victory over the Chargers when asked about it on Monday.
A statement win over a good opponent, it seems, is enough to cheer up even the notoriously gruff Belichick.
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Belichick outlined for reporters what he saw. He believed Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy had been held by Chargers offensive lineman Storm Norton instead of Matt Feiler. Had the call been on Norton, the play could have resulted in a safety, which would have been a crushing blow to the Chargers.
Instead, the Patriots were charged a timeout — one of three they burned through much earlier than would have been ideal in the fourth quarter.
“I saw the hold on Kyle and thought it happened in the end zone. I think it did happen in the end zone. The foul was called on the guard, so, again, I didn’t really hear who the foul was on. I saw it on Norton, thought it was on Norton, so that was the mistake that I made,” Belichick said.
“Thanks for pointing that out Mike, I appreciate it,” he added to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “It was my fault. I blew it.”
Fortunately for the Patriots, the failed challenge didn’t matter: Adrian Phillips intercepted Herbert shortly after and sprinted into the end zone for a pick-six that gave the Patriots the lead. Mac Jones later marched down the field and put the Patriots in field-goal range, helping them gain a commanding 10-point lead which the Chargers couldn’t overcome.
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