For the first time since the 2003 season, the New England Patriots have a record below .500 after a disappointing 31-30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 of the 2012 NFL season. While Justin Tucker‘s game-winning 27-yard field goal can be ruled as controversial, there’s one thing that shouldn’t even be considered a debate–which is that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will be facing a hefty fine for grabbing one of the replacement officials at the end of the game.
Belichick claims that he was trying to get the attention of the official to see whether or not the field goal would be reviewed (which is fair considering how close it was), but trying to grab the official at the end of the game when the league made it clear this was a red flag is the last thing he should have been doing. After attempting to get an answer from the other officials, Belichick grabbed the one official as a last resort, but that’s not going to help his case when it comes to receiving a hefty fine from the league’s front office.
The NFL sent a memo last week about head coaches interacting with these replacement officials and an action like this was the last thing Belichick needed to do at the end of the game. As if falling to 1-2 on the year isn’t enough to deal with as a head coach, Belichik’s wallet will now be a little more empty this week as the Patriots head into Week 4 looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
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