EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A possible mistake by New England Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater at the start of overtime came back to hurt the team in a 26-20 overtime loss to the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Patriots had made a dramatic comeback to tie the game at 20 – with quarterback Tom Brady connecting with tight end Rob Gronkowski on two fourth-down plays late in the fourth quarter – and then came up with a defensive stop to force overtime.
And then at the start of overtime, Slater called heads and won the toss, with the CBS broadcast picking up the following audio on the field between Slater and referee Clete Blakeman:
Blakeman: "Heads is the call.