Fake punt call dooms Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the key plays in the Patriots’ 28-21 loss to the Jets was a botched fake punt at the end of the second quarter.

When punter Zoltan Mesko recapped the play, he felt it would have worked had the snap to Patrick Chung been handled cleanly. “We had the numbers — eight on six,” he said.

With those numbers on their side, Mesko said there is a signal or a call that players can make to try the fake.

On their 38-yard line, and with 1:14 left on the clock, Mesko said Chung called for the fake.

“We trust the decision Patrick makes,” Mesko told Jeff Howe of NESN.com. “It just didn’t work out in that particular occasion. That’s why the coaches trust him to run it, and that’s why they give him the green light, if he has it.”

The Jets stopped Chung and four plays later scored a touchdown to go up 14-3. It was one of the turning points of the game.

“We just made a bad mistake,” coach Bill Belichick said, declining to elaborate further

Article courtesy of Mike Reiss & Mike Rodak of ESPN Boston.