Yes, Patriots coach Bill Belichick wanted to kick the ball to start overtime against the Jets. So why was there an issue at midfield after receiver Matthew Slater communicated that intention to referee Clete Blakeman?
The team that wins the toss to start overtime can make one of two selections: (1) to kick or to receive; or (2) which end of the field to defend. (The same options apply before the opening kickoff to start the game, along with the authority to defer.)
Slater picked Door No. 1, and he opted to kick. That decision, as worded, then gave the Jets the choice of which goal to defend. This allowed them to accept the benefit of whatever wind was swirling at the time; based on Stephen Gostkowski’s kickoff deep into the end zone, there wasn’t much.
If Slater would have selected an end to defend, the Jets then would have chosen whether to kick or to receive. Of course, that would have given the Jets the ability to choose to kick to the Patriots, something Belichick apparently didn’t want.
So maybe, in instructing Slater to choose to kick, Belichick knew exactly what he was doing -- even if Slater was confused by the forfeiture of his ability to select an end of the field to defend.
Lost in the question of whether Slater made a mistake is whether Belichick did. The Mornhinwegian decision to kickoff to start overtime became less boneheaded once true sudden-death overtime went away. Earlier this year, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer won the toss and kicked off to start overtime against the Rams. The Vikings won.
It also wasn’t the only time Belichick had chosen not to kickoff to start overtime. In 2013 against the Broncos, Belichick instructed the captains to take the wind, not the ball.
“We all looked at each other like he was crazy -- then we all asked again and again and again,” Logan Mankins told CSN New England at the time. “And we just wanted to make sure we were doing exactly what he wanted.”
Slater may or may not have done exactly what Belichick wanted on Sunday. But the end result was definitely what Belichick desired. The Jets got the ball. And then they ended the game by scoring a touchdown.
