If the Bears and their fans were looking to the NFL on Monday to answer their questions and provide some closure to one of the most unlikely and painful defeats in recent memory, it appears they were only in for more anguish.
Of the bizarre sequence of events in the final two minutes of the New England Patriots’ 33-30 comeback victory Sunday over the Bears, a phantom ball spot and subsequent first-down call on a play that could have sealed a victory for the Bears appeared all the more dubious after the league’s explanation.
The question was why there was no measurement on New England quarterback Tom Brady’s fourth-and-3 run from the Bears’ 30-yard-line with 54 seconds left, after which Brady’s subsequent spike of the ball was waved off.
Referee Bob McElwee, unavailable for comment after the game, said in a statement Monday that the Patriots snapped the ball before the officials could make a first-down ruling or call for a measurement. Officials could have reviewed the play on replay to check the spot, but McElwee said members of his crew relied on their memories instead to make perhaps the most significant ruling in the game.
It is also up to the discretion of the replay official in the booth to review any questionable calls within the final two minutes.
“The ball was spotted and the Patriots were in a hurry-up situation with the clock running,” McElwee’s statement said.
“Inside one minute with a running clock, we are told not to stop the clock too quickly. But as I was blowing the play dead to check if it was a first down, the Patriots, in that hurry-up situation and after a quarterback sneak, were able to snap the ball very quickly.
“Since I was blowing the whistle, there was no snap and no subsequent play. But because the ball had been moved, I could no longer call for a measurement. I conferred with my crew and they strongly felt that the quarterback had advanced the ball past the first-down marker.”
The confusion involved led to more uncertainty by the Bears, whose questionable timeout two plays later–following a 7-yard pass from Brady to Kevin Faulk for a third-and-3 from the Bears’ 20–set the stage for the Patriots’ game-winning touchdown.
Further complicating matters was that linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, having just missed sacking Brady before the completion to Faulk, was in the New England backfield as the Patriots were lining up to spike the ball. A spike would have left the Patriots with a fourth-and-3 situation with 28 seconds left. Instead, the Bears called the timeout, prompting observers to wonder if Bears coaches were trying to avoid an offsides penalty that would have resulted in a first down for the Patriots.
Defensive coordinator Greg Blache said the timeout was called only to clarify the down and get officials to address the situation, while Colvin also said he was not the reason the timeout was called.
“That wasn’t the case because somebody asked me that [Sunday] and I didn’t know what they were talking about,” Colvin said Monday.
“I believe I made it back on the other side of the ball, but everybody was calling timeout before they even got to that point anyway, so that wasn’t even a factor.”
On the next play, a third-and-3, Brady hit David Patten with the winning touchdown pass.
McElwee’s statement addressed other questions as well:
– Regarding the reversal of an apparent interception by Bryan Robinson to an incomplete pass on the Patriots’ final drive, McElwee reiterated that after reviewing the play, “it was clear [Robinson] never had control of the ball, so the proper call was to reverse the on-field ruling to an incomplete pass.”
– Following a 7-yard pass from Brady to Faulk to give the Patriots a third-and-3 from the Bears’ 20-yard-line, and the Bears’ subsequent timeout, the clock was reset from 20 to 28 seconds.
“On the play, the receiver was down and Chicago signaled for a timeout,” said McElwee. “The head linesman [Tony Veteri] then killed the clock, but the clock operator upstairs did not see his signal. He waited until I signaled at 20 seconds. . . . The line judge who is responsible for the game clock confirmed it was at 28 seconds, so we had to reset it.”
– On the Patriots’ game-winning touchdown, McElwee reiterated that Patten had possession of the ball with one foot in bounds while dragging his second foot, which the replay confirmed.
But even before receiving the league’s statement, a downcast Dick Jauron said it was a futile exercise.
“There’s really no good that can come out of pursuing this thing because the fact of the matter is that we had ample opportunity to win that football game,” Jauron said of a loss in which the Bears led by 21 points in the third quarter.
“It didn’t happen, and we didn’t get it done, and that’s my fault. I just need to get them there ready to play and better prepared so that they make the plays and we don’t put ourselves in those situations. You won’t get any satisfaction from the rest of it.”
Wrong place, wrong time
With 28 seconds left in Sunday’s game, the Bears called timeout as the Patriots were lining up to spike the ball on third-down-and 3 at the Bears’ 20. The Bears said they wanted to question officials whether it was third down or fourth down. The timeout came as linebaker Rosevelt Colvin was in the Patriots’ backfield, 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
LINING UP
As the Patriots line up to run the play, Colvin is 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
BLOWING THE PLAY DEAD
Officials grant the Bears the timeout, wiping out Tom Brady’s spike of the ball, which would have left the Patriots with a fourth-and-3 situation.
THE REACTION
Brady heads to the sideline as Colvin contemplates the Bears’ situation. Brady threw the game-winning touchdown pass on the next play.
“I believe I made it back on the other side of the ball, but everybody was calling timeout before they even got to that point anyway, so that wasn’t even a factor,” Colvin said Monday when asked about the sequence.
Chicago Tribune.
