The Broncos trailed the Patriots, 16-3, when New England faced a key third down with fewer than four minutes to play. Tom Brady stood in the pocket and delivered a pass to Julian Edelman that went through the wideout’s hands and caromed to the turf.
T.J. Ward’s stupid unnecessary roughness penalty ruined the Broncos’ slim comeback chances
Quite possibly the dumbest play of 2016.
And then, thanks to safety T.J. Ward’s boneheaded play, the Patriots ended up with a first down anyway.
The seven-year veteran gave the Pats the chance to burn another two minutes off the clock by flinging Edelman to the ground well after the play had already ended. Edelman popped back to his feet and got in Ward’s face to express his displeasure with the play, but the Bronco would be the only one flagged.
The 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that followed allowed New England to run the clock down to the two-minute warning before LeGarrette Blount was stopped on a fourth-and-3 dive up the middle.
That gave Denver the ball with 1:54 left, zero timeouts, and a 13-point deficit to close. Their rally ended when Trevor Siemian fumbled the ball back to New England, allowing the Patriots to clinch their eighth straight AFC East title.
See More:
