Bill Belichick Questions Officiating, Even In New England Patriots' Win Over Buffalo Bills
The New England Patriots earned a much-needed win on Sunday, upsetting the division-rival Buffalo Bills 29-25 to snap a three-game losing streak.
Throughout the game, though, there were some odd quirks with the officiating. Specifically, referee Clete Blakeman and crew threw a large number of flags, only to be pick them up after the fact.
Even though the the Patriots won, coach Bill Belichick was still not happy with some of the officiating decisions.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones scrambles during Sunday's game.
© Kris Craig / USA TODAY NETWORK
“You’d have to ask Clete about some of those, throwing flags, picking them up, throwing them late, whatever, it was kind of an unusual game the way some of the penalties were called all the way around,” Belichick told reporters Monday. “The obvious question is, if it gets picked up, why’d you throw it in the first place? I don’t know. You’d have to ask them that.”
Belichick didn't mention any specific calls, but merely pointed out how he felt the game was being called.
"They're kind of letting the players play and not calling a whole lot," Belichick said. "So, that's kind of the flow of the game, and every game's different...There's a certain way that the game's being played that particular game, and it might be a little different from another game when basically the same players are playing. That's one of the things that you have to recognize as a player, and as a coach, we try to point that out, that they're calling it tight today or they're not."
When all was said and done, the penalties ended up fairly even. New England had eight penalties for 59 yards, while Buffalo had nine for 46 yards.
However, just because the calls were even doesn't mean the game was well-officiated, and it clearly wasn't in Belichick's eyes.
