The New England Patriots watched their lead slip away Sunday in a demoralizing loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts marched 80 yards in 19 plays to take the lead with a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Patriots had timeouts to use as the Colts advanced the ball down the field, but they chose to hold onto them and used them on a final offensive effort after they fell behind late.
“Absolutely, there was a thought,” New England head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters, per team-provided transcript. “We have also won a Super Bowl here doing it the other way. Keeping our timeouts is what I thought was best for the team.”
That comment comes in reference to the Patriots not calling a timeout late in Super Bowl XLIX before Malcolm Butler’s interception sealed the deal against the Seattle Seahawks. The championship came in Mayo’s penultimate season as a player with the Patriots.
The 3-10 Patriots return to action in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals.
