As every NFL announcer ever will remind you, the players on the field aren't tanking. But sometimes, a team's combination of players is bad enough that the tanking happens of its own accord.
That was the case Monday night, when the Jets stopped the Patriots on third down with a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. New England sent out the field-goal team, and New York sent out its blocking unit. The only problem? This particular Jets group was made up of 12 players, not the maximum 11. A penalty flag flew, and the Pats were granted a first down.
In this sequence, it ended up not mattering, because New England settled for a field goal to end that drive, anyway. But it summed up a night when the Jets couldn't beat the worst iteration of the Patriots in two-plus decades, as New England won on a walk-off field goal 30-27. The loss moved the Jets to 0-9, maintaining the top spot in the race for the No. 1 draft pick and the right to select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, while New England moved to 3-5.
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Referees administer a 12-men-on-the-field penalty against the defense when 12 players are lined up in a defensive formation without any attempting to get off the field. That was the case Monday night with the Jets leading 27-17 halfway through the fourth quarter.
New England eventually ended that drive with a Nick Folk field goal that began a game-ending streak of 13 unanswered points by the Patriots. Cam Newton's 1-yard touchdown run tied the game at 27 with less than two minutes to play, and Folk won it at the buzzer with a 51-yard make against his old team.
The Twitter conversation throughout Monday's game was about which team was tanking harder. At one point, the Jets punted on fourth-and-3 from New England's 41-yard line in the fourth quarter.
NYJ decided to punt to NE from the NE 41 on 4th & 3 with 0:31 remaining in the 1st while losing 3 to 7.
— Surrender Index 90 (@surrender_idx90) November 10, 2020
With a Surrender Index of 42.83, this punt ranks at the 99.9th percentile of cowardly punts of the 2020 season, and the 99.2nd percentile of all punts since 2009.
As New England hesitated to push the ball down the field and continued to hand it off to Rex Burkhead while trailing, Twitter also suggested Belichick was showing off his genius in a different way.
Is Belichick tanking for Lawrence? His genius knows no bounds!
— Phil Hughes (@PJHughes45) November 10, 2020
Belichick isn’t even trying to hide the fact he’s tanking for Zach Wilson. #Patriots #BYU #MNF
— Scott (@sfbod) November 10, 2020
But it was the 12-men-on-the-field penalty, which followed Newton tripping on air while he scrambled, that really sent Twitter into a frenzy.
Belichick told Cam to flop so Gase sent out 12 men on the FG.
— The Jet Press (@TheJetPress) November 10, 2020
This is a must-watch tanking chess match right now.
If the Jets keep sending 12 guys onto the field, Trevor Lawrence is just gonna stay in school.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 10, 2020
The Jets had 12 players on the field during a FG attempt and now the Patriots have another chance at a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/EzGfNs5KDa
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 10, 2020
You maybe see 12 men on the field on a field goal attempt once in an entire season...sometimes never.
— Jake Brown (@JakeBrownRadio) November 10, 2020
There it is...courtesy of the Jets.
Jets saw Trevor Lawrence slipping out of their grasp there and fixed it with a 12 men penalty.
— Craig Stout (@barleyhop) November 10, 2020