The one thing everyone wanted after the New England Patriots gift-wrapped a victory for the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday? An explanation. They didn’t have to wait long, as Jakobi Meyers provided one with his head-scratching lateral that resulted in a 30-24 victory for the Raiders.
Meyers caught the initial lateral from teammate Rhamondre Stevenson and then attempted to keep the play alive as time expired in regulation in a tie game. That didn’t work out well, with Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones recovering the lateral and running to the endzone for a game-winning touchdown.
Why even lateral in the first place? If the play dies, the game goes into overtime. Meyers provided some explanation behind his costly decision.
“I was trying to be a hero, I guess,” Meyers said, per TMZ Sports. “I ain’t see dude back there, tried throwing the ball. Like I said, I just was doing too much. I should’ve went down with the ball.”
Put Sunday’s loss into the category of “teachable moments.” Sometimes, you don’t need to be the hero — you just need to make the smartest play.
Ex-Patriots WR Julian Edelman Loses It Over Jakobi Meyers’ Mistake
New England Patriots fans were stunned, angry and in utter disbelief at what unfolded on the final play of the game on Sunday. Even former wide receiver Julian Edelman couldn’t believe what he saw.
“What the f— are we doing?!” Edelman said twice. Then, the former receiver threw his hat in frustration in a moment that went viral.
Edelman certainly wasn’t alone in his frustration. Plenty of Patriots fans and NFL viewers were nearly at a loss for words when they saw the final play, too.
“Patriots out stupiding the Jets is not something I thought I would ever see but here we are,” one Twitter user wrote. Another added, “Nah investigate the Patriots players on better on the game. Cause that was beyond stupid,” another fan said.
That moment will go down as one of the most bizarre in the history of the NFL. But, at least we now know what Jakobi Meyers was thinking on that play.
