Another Patriots game, another pool report explaining a key call that kept them from winning.
This week, referee Craig Wrolstad explained the decision to not rule that running back Rhamondre Stevenson’s forward progress had been stopped before he fumbled inside the Cincinnati 10.
Down 22-18 (after trailing 22-0), the Patriots had first and goal from the five, with 1:04 to play. Stevenson got the ball on a handoff, went up the middle, got pushed backward, and fumbled before he was down.
“How much consideration was there to blowing the fumble play with New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson dead due to forward progress being stopped?” pool reporter Mike Reiss of ESPN.com asked Wrolstad after the game.
“In order to have forward progress, the runner has to be controlled by the defense,” Wrolstad said. “He has to be held and controlled, and basically have his feet taken away. We felt that he still had his feet. So, we did not feel that he was held and controlled by the defense. He was still free to gain yardage and then also, obviously, there was still a chance that he could fumble.”
Stevenson took responsibility for the fumble after the game, explaining to reporters that he “was trying to make something happen” and “probably [was] doing more than I was supposed to do.”
As to the possibility that the play should have been stopped, Stevenson said, “It don’t really matter what I think. They called a fumble.” He acknowledged he was fighting for extra yards, and “probably should have just went down.”
It happens, to almost every player. He wasn’t trying to fumble. He was trying to score. Defensive players have a say in that, with an opportunity to knock the ball out. Today, that’s how it went.
Today, the loss dropped the Patriots to 7-8, making their path to the playoffs even more precarious. They finish with a visit from the Dolphins and a trip to Buffalo.
