Bill Belichick was none too pleased with the Carl Cheffers’ officiating crew during the first half of Sunday’s Patriots-Broncos game.
Shortly after Denver guard Quinn Meinerz was penalized for unnecessary roughness against New England linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, NFL Network’s game broadcast caught Belichick unloading on an official.
“You didn’t give us time!” the Patriots head coach yelled. “You just spotted the ball!”
You can listen to Belichick’s protest here.
The source of his ire seemed to be that Cheffers’ crew spotted the ball immediately after the penalty rather than giving the Patriots an opportunity to substitute. They wound up having just 10 players on the field when the Broncos got to the line of scrimmage, forcing New England to burn a timeout.
It didn’t wind up costing the Patriots, as the Broncos punted four plays later and New England wound up not using all of its first-half timeouts. Denver took a 7-3 lead into halftime after kickers Chad Ryland and Will Lutz both missed field goals late in the second quarter.
