FOXBORO -- One might think that Patriots coach Bill Belichick would have little to quibble about after a blowout 51-17 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday. One would be wrong.
Not only do his players have aspects of their game to clean up, Belichick explained in a conference call on Monday, he said that he has to perform better as their head coach.
Asked about the timeout the Patriots were forced to burn before a touchdown run by running back Dion Lewis in the first quarter, Belichick blamed himself.
"We were kind of just caught in between in that situation, and it just ended up taking a little longer than it should have," Belichick said. "I’d say that’s really probably more of a coaching issue. I’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to do a better job on that just cleaning it up. It just didn’t happen in as timely a way as it should have. That’s really my responsibility more than anybody’s."
Later in the game, in the second quarter, Belichick burned another timeout when he lost a challenge.
The Jaguars were in a third-and-seven situation when quarterback Blake Bortles was hit by Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins. The tackle jarred the ball loose in Bortles' hand, and though the ball traveled forward, it was ruled a fumble by the officials. The recovery was made by the Jaguars and gave them enough for the first down.
Belichick challenged the play, thinking it was an incompletion that would have presented the Jaguars a fourth-and-seven scenario. But the call was upheld, the Jaguars were given a first down, and moments later Jason Myers knocked in a 40-yard field goal to cut the Patriots lead to 10-3.
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Belichick had come around on the official call by the time he spoke with reporters on Monday morning.
"That was a good call," he said. "I thought it was a good call. Walt Coleman was right on it. It was an open hand that came through. It definitely was a fumble. They made the correct call, and they shouldn’t have overturned the play, and they didn’t. They absolutely made the right call on the field. It was a great job by the officiating crew."