The New England Patriots’ Week 9 game against the Atlanta Falcons wasn’t exempt from controversy. The Pats held off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt from the Falcons on Sunday, stopping them at nine points to secure the 24-23 win.
During a second-and-10 at the Patriots’ 48-yard line ahead of the two-minute warning, Falcons’ center Ryan Neuzil heard claps, which is an indication to snap the ball to Michael Penix Jr. Neuzil did it, but Penix didn’t signal anything. The second-year quarterback grounded the ball and got penalized with 10 yards. A play later, the Falcons punted the ball, which marked the fate of the game.
Coach Raheem Morris accused the Patriots of “fabricating” that snap, noting that they clapped to confuse Neuzil.
“They did a nice job,” he said. “They simulated a snap. The ball came early, was snapped early. … that was when we got the intentional grounding. Nice job by those guys. Great situational football. Great play. … That’s why the ball was snapped early on Mike. He wasn’t ready for the snap.”
Mike Vrabel responds to Raheem Morris’ claims
While Morris made the case against the Patriots, Mike Vrabel responded. He wasn’t as serious as Atlanta’s coach and shrugged off the claims by saying it might have been the fans who confused the Falcons’ center.
Head coach Raheem Morrisof the Falcons
“I didn’t see anything. Like, is that fake? I don’t know… Clapgate… That was new. I didn’t see that… Maybe that’s a testament to our fans… They got loud,” he said.
Everything is done now, as the Patriots improved to 7-2, bringing their winning streak to six games. The Falcons are in the middle of a three-game skid and the picture doesn’t look that promising.
