Lack of ball control catches up in defeat
FOXBORO — The thought for much of this season has been it takes a perfect game to beat the Patriots.
But not even this team is immune to its own mistakes, especially against an opponent as formidable as the Seahawks.
In last night’s 31-24 loss to Seattle, the Patriots fumbled three times in the fourth quarter, losing one, in a showdown where every possession was crucial.
Coming into the game, the Pats had put the ball on the ground 15 times, tied for third-most in the league, losing nine, second-most league-wide. And while it was not the sole factor in the defeat, ball security certainly played a part.
And it has not just been role players who have fallen victim. Bedrock figures Tom Brady and Julian Edelman are part of the problem. Edelman’s hurt the most. Following a Cyrus Jones 43-yard kick return where the rookie cornerback coughed up the ball, only to be bailed out by Nate Ebner’s recovery, the Pats took over at the Seattle 43yard line down by a point with 8:46 to play.
Just two snaps later, Brady hit Edelman for a 5-yard gain, but Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor ripped the ball loose as the receiver fell to the ground. Cornerback Richard Sherman recovered.
The Seahawks scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession to increase their lead to 31-24 in a massive momentum shift.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against, it’s always a point of emphasis,” Jones said. “Ball security is something that coach preaches all the time. We all just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
Although it didn’t result in a turnover, Brady’s muff also hurt. On their final possession of the game, the Pats drove to the Seattle 1 and faced a third-and-goal with 19 seconds left. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels elected to go with a play about as reliable as any when it comes to shortyardage conversions over Brady’s career: The sneak.
But Brady never handled the snap cleanly, losing the ball as he found no room to dive forward. He fell on it at the 2.
The Patriots caught a break when the Seahawks were caught with 12 men on the field, but Brady’s pass to Gronkowski on fourth down sailed high and incomplete.
All of it shows the Patriots can afford some errors against the average opponents on their schedule, but the Seahawks are a different breed, and some lessons have to be learned the hard way.
“We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game,” running back James White said. “We didn’t want to have any turnovers. We did. We still had an opportunity to keep ourselves in the game in the end. We’ve just got to find a way.”