by Hal Bent | Posted on Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
The New England Patriots faced off against the Carolina Panthers in one of the most entertaining Monday Night Football games of the season to date. While the game was not decided until the final play of the game, the it was sixty minutes of entertainment elevating the game to the grand stage it deserved. With just three punts and only one turnover in the game, it was a matchup of offenses as each team moved down the field deliberately and efficiently taking up big chunks of the game clock with each drive.
The last play of the game has garnered all the attention since the game ended. While no NFL fan wants to see a game coming down to a penalty flag on a pass in the end zone, there are times when the officials are required to make a judgement call on an infraction. While quarterback Tom Brady was under pressure and under-threw the pass, an unimpeded receiver would have been able to come back to the ball and make a diving attempt.
Whether uber-athletic tight end Rob Gronkowski could make the reception or not is up to debate, there is little doubt that he has–and will again–put himself in position to at least attempt to make the catch in that situation. Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly clearly had his arms wrapped around Gronkowski and prevented him from moving towards the ball. If the officials did not want to call pass interference, that is fine. Defensive holding or illegal contact both fit the bill for that play and would have only given the Patriots a play with no time on the clock rather than be placed at the one yard line (as defensive pass interference would result).
For Patriots fans, the game brings up memories of another November game where a pass interference call at the end of the game...CLICK HERE FOR MUCH MORE: http://www.h4-entertainment.com/2013/11/new-england-patriots-need-to-move-on-from-monday-night/
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