No one would have predicted that the Raiders would win on an unbelievable late-game Patriots blunder under Bill Belichick’s watch ahead of Sunday’s matchup—not a single person.
But in the closing seconds of the Pats-Raiders, game with a chance to play overtime, a play that seemed fitting for the moment turned into an absolute disaster. On the final play, running back Rhamondre Stevenson threw a lateral pass to Jakobi Meyers, who then attempted to throw the ball to quarterback Mac Jones but instead found the Raiders’ Chandler Jones, who returned it for a game-winning pick-six. To add fuel to the fire, the Patriots QB failed to tackle the Raiders defensive end.
That failed tackle has former New England star Julian Edelman unhappy with the effort from the second-year quarterback, like many other disgruntled Patriots fans right now. The three-time Super Bowl champion told Inside the NFL on Paramount+ that the quarterback should have made the critical tackle.
“The season's on the line,” the 36-year-old said. “You gotta trip him.”
In addition to that, Edelman shared a blunt response to Brandon Marshall’s statement that Jones does not practice making tackles. Edelman felt that if he cannot tackle an opposing player from getting a game-winning score, he should not be making the facial expressions he does toward coaching staff when things are going wrong.
“You know what, he [Mac Jones] also doesn’t practice the antics after plays and waving off coaches and all these little pissy faces and stuff,” Edelman said. “Like he doesn’t practice that, and he does it. Why can’t you make the tackle? It’s bad.”
The Patriots’ loss also reduced New England’s chances of making the playoffs to 22% from 42% entering Sunday’s game, according to NBC’s Steve Kornacki. With the holiday season in full effect, it’s safe to say that Jones sits on Edelman’s naughty list right now.
