The New England Patriotsā Week 9 game against the Atlanta Falcons wasnāt 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 Patriotsā 48-yard line ahead of the two-minute warning, Falconsā center Ryan Neuzil heard claps, which is an indication to snap the ball to Michael Penix Jr. Neuzil did it, but Penix didnāt 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 āfabricatingā that snap, noting that they clapped to confuse Neuzil.
āThey did a nice job,ā he said. āThey simulated a snap. The ball came early, was snapped early. ā¦ that was when we got the intentional grounding. Nice job by those guys. Great situational football. Great play. ā¦ Thatās why the ball was snapped early on Mike. He wasnāt ready for the snap.ā
Mike Vrabel responds to Raheem Morrisā claims
While Morris made the case against the Patriots, Mike Vrabel responded. He wasnāt as serious as Atlantaās coach and shrugged off the claims by saying it might have been the fans who confused the Falconsā center.
Head coach Raheem Morrisof the Falcons
āI didnāt see anything. Like, is that fake? I donāt knowā¦ Clapgateā¦ That was new. I didnāt see thatā¦ Maybe thatās a testament to our fansā¦ They got loud,ā 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 doesnāt look that promising.
