ORCHARD PARK, NY — With the patriots hunting a grudge a cold afternoon in Buffalo, a moment of truth came in the fourth quarter.
Jerod Mayo had seen a 14-0 lead unravel into a 24-14 deficit. With 8:33 to play, the Patriots offense faced a fourth-and-5 from their own 45-yard line. New England’s defense hadn’t forced a three-and-out all day, and with MVP leader Josh Allen on the other end, it looked unlikely the Patriots would be able to rally by two scores if they gave the ball back. .
Still, Mayo chose to gamble.
“For me, it’s a field position thing,” Mayo said.
After Bryce Baringer’s 45-yard punt, Allen moved the chains on a third down. Buffalo bled 3:59 off the clock before punting the ball back to the Patriots. The Mayo team eventually went down 24-21 with the Bills kneeling down the clock.
So what did Mayo mean by “field position thing?”
“For me, it’s about our timeouts, especially right now, they’re definitely important,” Mayo replied. “You have three timeouts at the end of the game, you have a chance to get the ball back and we didn’t.”
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