Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is still fuming over his team’s crushing loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. But he had a suggestion for what should have happened that might not be on the level.
In a recent media appearance, Edelman said that Jones should have tried to trip Raiders defender Chandler Jones after he came up with the ball and began to run it in for the touchdown. He said that in that situation, the season was on the line and worth the risk.
“Season’s on the line,” Edelman said, via ProFootballTalk. “You’ve got to trip him.”
But ProFootballTalk pointed out that doing something like that might not have changed the outcome. It would either have resulted – at best – in a 15-yard penalty and given the Raiders a chance at a game-winning field goal.
At worst, the officials on the field could have called that a “palpably unfair act” that deprived the Raiders of a clear scoring opportunity and awarded them the touchdown anyway.
Whether Mac Jones should have found themselves in that position or not, the decisions made on that play by all parties were pretty inexplicable.
Win or lose, the Patriots’ inability to put the Las Vegas Raiders away is a pretty strong sign that they’re not Super Bowl material at the moment.
Maybe they’ll regain their form over these final few weeks, but right now they’re dealing with a massive black eye that might be too demoralizing.