FOXBOROUGH – When the ball hit the turf, Jonathan Jones felt good.
The Patriots cornerback had tight coverage on Seattle receiver Tyler Locket on this important overtime pass play. However, those feelings quickly turned to anger when Jones saw the official throw a flag.
At 7:01 over the overtime period, Jones was called for a controversial defensive pass interference penalty that gifted the Seahawks 20 yards. This play ended up pushing Seattle to midfield. Six plays later, Jason Myers hit a game-winning field goal.
To make matters worse, Jones said that Lockett, a veteran receiver, told him that he had good coverage and it shouldn’t have been a penalty. The situation left Jones upset following the Patriots 23-20 loss.
“He said, ‘That’s not a penalty.’ Straight up. That’s what he told me,” Jones said. “It sucks. I kind of feel like that was the play of the game. I’ll go back and watch it on film. I haven’t watched it on film to see if there’s something I could’ve done better and take it from there.”
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith finished with 327 yards to go with a touchdown on Sunday. Seattle receivers DK Metcalf (129 yards) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (117 yards) also found success against the Patriots secondary.
Jones was matched up with Lockett, who finished with two catches for 15 yards.
After the penalty, Smith completed three passes for 27 yards. That included one pass to Lockett for 16 yards. After Zach Charbonnet ran for a 9-yard gain, Meyers hit the 31-yard field goal.
Had that penalty not been called, the Seahawks would’ve faced a second-and-10 from the 31-yard line. Jones said he’d like to receive an explanation from the NFL on why that flag was thrown during an important time of the game.
“Without getting fined – I would like someone from the officiating office and NFL to show where the penalty was,” Jones said. “Overtime, I don’t feel like that’s a penalty. The receiver acknowledged that wasn’t a penalty. At that point, it’s out of my hands. He’s got the flag. He threw it.”
