The Patriots took just one timeout during a 19-play, 80-yard game-winning drive from the Colts on Sunday, leaving their offense just 12 seconds, and two timeouts, to try to score while trailing 25-24.
The Patriots operated well, given the circumstances, getting off three plays and two completions to set up a 68-yard field goal attempt from Joey Slye that fell short.
After the game, Mayo was asked why he didn’t call more timeouts while the Colts were draining the clock to give his offense even more time to operate. He referenced Bill Belichick’s decision not to call timeouts at the end of Super Bowl XLIX, which helped set up Malcolm Butler’s game-winning interception.
“Absolutely, there was a thought. We have also won a Super Bowl here doing it the other way,” Mayo, who was on the roster on injured reserve for that game, said Sunday. “Keeping our time-outs is what I thought was best for the team.”
Mayo said Monday on WEEI that he regretted making the comment.
“I shouldn’t have done that. You’re right. I probably shouldn’t have, and when I said it, I was frustrated, first of all,” Mayo said on “The Greg Hill Show.” “I should have taken a deep breath. I shouldn’t have said it. I should not have said it. Yeah.”
Mayo also seemed to believe the offense would have had less time to operate with if he had taken timeouts during the Colts’ drive, though it’s hard to follow his line of thinking, and WEEI didn’t ask any follow-ups.
“When I went back and watched it — and this was part of the conversation too — if we would have taken our time outs on that final drive, we would have got the ball back with — it was a seven-play drive or something like that — we would have gotten the ball back with, like, five seconds and no timeouts,” Mayo said. “And so it did give us an opportunity to, at the end of the game, to still have a chance.”
Mayo chose to attempt the 68-yard field goal, which would have been an NFL record, over having Drake Maye throw a Hail Mary.
“Joey, I know he missed a short field goal during the game, but pre-game is always big, especially with specialists, and he was booming them in pregame,” Mayo said. “And I felt like that gave us the best scenario, I think since, like, 2014, I think it’s 1-and-11 as far as kicks like that. Same thing with Hail Marys, what is it, 1 out of 12? 1 out of 10? I don’t know. I just felt like that was the best thing to do.”
Slye hit the 68-yarder perfectly straight, but it still feel a few yards short of the uprights. The longest field goal in NFL history was a 66-yarder, so it’s worth noting that kicks of 68 yards are not 1-of-11, they’ve never been executed.