The New England Patriots opened themselves to a whole lot of criticism Sunday, and the criticism certainly has come.
The Patriots executed one of the most disastrous plays in NFL history against the Raiders in Las Vegas when wide receiver Jakoki Meyers attempted to the lateral the ball to quarterback Mac Jones on the final play of regulation in a tie game. Raiders defender Chandler Jones picked off Meyers' lateral and flattened the overmatched Jones en route to a walk-off defensive touchdown that handed New England an improbable 30-24 loss.
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That ridiculous final play was a topic of discussion while Ray Lewis was a guest on ESPN2's "ManningCast" during Monday night's Packers-Rams game. And the ex-Baltimore Ravens linebacker took the opportunity to blast his old nemesis, singling out the two Patriots players most at fault for the play.
"First of all, I’ve never seen a play like that," Lewis told Peyton and Eli Manning. "That guy Jakobi Meyers -- I don’t even need you in practice next week after that play."
Lewis then shared a rather harsh critique of Jones' tackling abilities.
New England Patriots
"And then Mac Jones: Make the freaking tackle," Lewis added. "I mean, jeez, what are you squatting for? Just tackle the man."
If Mac Jones had found some way to bring Chandler Jones to the ground, the Patriots could have averted disaster and played for overtime. Then again, it's hard to fault a quarterback for failing to bring down a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end.
Curran: Patriots put a cherry on top of stupidity sundae in Vegas
Most of the blame falls on Meyers, who took full responsibility after the game and noted he needed to be "smarter" in that situation.
"Once (Rhamondre Stevenson) gives it to me, I'm smart enough to know it's tied and go down with it," Meyers said. "Whether he gave the ball to me or not, he gave it to me because he trusted me. I've got to be smarter with it."
The Patriots never should have been in that situation in the first place, though. They had possession up seven points with three minutes remaining in regulation but couldn't salt the game away, then allowed the Raiders to drive down the field and score a (questionable) touchdown with 32 seconds remaining.
That set the stage for a disaster of a final play that will be talked about for years to come -- and will be used as a punch line for anyone looking to take a shot at the Patriots.