Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t have much to add when asked about his timeout usage in the final minute of Sunday night’s thriller against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I feel good about it,” Belichick said Monday afternoon, the day after the Patriots came up just short on their game-deciding drive.
With 36 seconds remaining and his team trailing, 35-30, Cam Newton connected with Julian Edelman for an 18-yard gain. Edelman was tackled by Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner before going out of bounds, so the clock continued to tick. Belichick elected to hang onto his final timeout, while the Patriots scurried to Seattle’s 13-yard line.
By the time Newton snapped the ball, there were just 12 seconds left in the game. Had Belichick called a timeout immediately after Edelman’s catch, there would have been about 29 seconds left. Had Newton spiked the ball at the line of scrimmage, there could have been about 20 seconds.
After an incomplete pass attempt to Edelman in the end zone, Newton found second-year receiver N’Keal Harry for a 12-yard completion.
With the ball at Seattle’s 1-yard line, Belichick used his timeout with two seconds to go.
The last play of the game was designed for Newton to rush the ball, but he was stuffed for a loss of a yard. Even though the drive was unsuccessful, Belichick seemed content with his management of the timeouts.
“We were able to stop the clock and get the play run that we wanted to run, that was the critical play in the game,” Belichick said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But I think that’s the position you want to be in, not having to race up to the ball and try to come up with something, especially at the 1-yard line, at the last second. It’s doable, but it’s hard to do.”
Belichick tipped his cap to the Seahawks.
“Seattle played it well,” he said. “We didn’t have a great shot at it as it turned out.”
Newton agreed.
“It was a great play by them,” he said. “We figured that we went to the well one too many times, but, at the end of the day, I still feel confident about it. We just have to execute.”
Belichick bucks the trend
It doesn’t sound like Belichick has been keeping up with what’s going on in Tampa Bay.
During his weekly radio appearance on WEEI, Belichick deflected the question when asked for his thoughts on former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s play so far in Tampa Bay.
“I’ve really been focused on the teams that we’re playing,” Belichick said. “Miami was obviously a big focus for us, Seattle — there’s some other things that came up for me last week — and now the Raiders, they’re a team that we haven’t played. Seattle’s a team we haven’t played. We kind of have our hands full with taking care of the things we have to take care of.”
Brady, who left New England this offseason after 20 years, has thrown three touchdowns and three interceptions in his first two games for the 1-1 Buccaneers.
“I don’t watch a lot of other pro games,” Belichick said. “I really don’t watch a lot of college games. I watch the games that affect what we do.”
It’s possible Belichick will catch Brady in action as part of his preparation for New England’s matchup against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 11. The Bucs are scheduled to square off against Denver this Sunday at 4:25 p.m.
Get Boston.com’s browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
