Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo’s team gave up a lead late against the Colts on Sunday and their last-ditch effort to win the game came down to a decision about what to do on the final snap.
The Patriots got the ball to the 50 after Anthony Richardson’s two-point conversion put the Colts up 25-24 and Mayo had to choose between trying a Hail Mary or a field goal that would set the record for the longest kick in NFL history. Mayo opted to give kicker Joey Slye a shot and he hit the ball well, but it still wound up being short.
“That was 100 percent me,” Mayo said, via a transcript from the team. “Look, Slye was hitting it well in pregame, and I felt that that was the best thing to do to help our team win the football game. Not sure what the numbers are on Hail Marys versus the field goal there, but that’s what I felt was right.”
Quarterback Drake Maye was asked if he would have liked a shot at the Hail Mary and said he is “here to support” whatever Mayo and the coaching staff want to do. Neither of Sunday’s options was a good one and the best path for the Patriots will be to build a team that doesn’t need a last play miracle to outlast a team like the Colts.
