After Further Review: Jets-Patriots Officiating

by Site Admin

By popular demand, we're again going to have a post after each game that breaks down some of the controversial decisions from the officiating crew in the game.

Penalty Count

Patriots 6-43 (leading to one Jets first down)

Jets 3-15 (leading to zero Patriots first downs)

Note: This does not include penalties that are declined or off-set.

Plays where the call was obvious, uncontroversial or not visible on broadcast footage

Jets Penalties

  • Nick Bawden false start on a punt. Flinched before the snap.
  • Alijah Vera-Tucker false start on 1st-and-goal. Dropped into his stance a half-beat early, perhaps not helped by the crowd noise as the team had their only successful drive of the game.

Patriots Penalties

  • Trent Brown false start. Out of his stance early at the snap.
  • Mike Onwenu false start. Flinched before the snap.
  • 12 men in the huddle. Kendrick Bourne tried to run off the field but the officials spotted it.

Penalties warranting further discussion or explanation

Jets Penalties

  • Offensive holding on Joe Tippmann to negate a Zach Wilson first down scramble. Tippmann was shoved onto his back and held onto the defensive player's leg as he tried to get up to chase Wilson from the pocket. The officials erroneously announced this as on Connor McGovern initially.

Patriots Penalties

  • Cole Strange holding penalty on Al Woods. Continued to hang on as Woods won a leverage advantage. You could hear an exasperated Woods shouting "THANK YOU" implying that they'd been holding a lot prior to that call.
  • Juju Smith-Schuster blindside block on CJ Mosley. An obvious personal foul as he was lit up at the end of the play but Mosley still had to appeal to the official to draw this flag.
  • Myles Bryant pass interference on Randall Cobb in the end zone. A clear two-handed shove that perhaps wasn't necessary because it would have been a pretty difficult pass to complete.

Notable no-calls etc

Here were some of the other notable missed calls, replay situations and controversial moments:

  • As noted above on the Woods reaction, the Jets seemed frustrated with the lack of offensive holding calls on New England, who dominated them up front. Trent Brown was a serial offender, constantly grabbing a handful of jersey to control his man.
  • Quinton Jefferson shoved Mac Jones as he was going out of bounds on a throw-away but this did not draw a late hit flag. This was almost identical to a call made on John Franklin-Myers last season. Jefferson needs to learn that he's on the Jets now and this gets called on them usually, but he got away with this one.
  • Jabrill Peppers had an obvious helmet to helmet hit on Breece Hall at the end of a run. It will be interesting to see if he gets fined for that.
  • Deuce Carter got away with a lot of early contact on an incomplete deep ball just before half time to Pop Douglas. That should have been flagged.
  • While the announcers made a meal about the Jets spiking the ball with one second left before the Hail Mary, this was clearly in time. However, the officials failed to note that the missed field goal just before half time landed with a second still on the clock and this could have given the Jets a chance to throw another Hail Mary from near midfield.
  • It was surprising that the Jets weren't flagged after a 3rd-and-short stuff where Mosley took Jones down long after the whistle and then Sauce Gardner shoved him. Jones might have got the call if he didn't overdo it on the flop. This was apparently a reaction to a Jones "love tap".

Let us know what we missed - or misinterpreted - in the comments...