At times, it seemed like the Patriots were facing two opponents in Week 6.
Of course, there were the Saints, whom the Patriots beat 25-19, but there were also the officials, who made some head-scratching calls against Mike Vrabel’s squad.
The Patriots head coach was asked about how to fix the officiating on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning.
“I got a tough enough job to coach this football team,” Vrabel said, laughing. “There’s not much. It becomes comical at a point, and they send these videos out every week, and they do a great job. (NFL rules analyst and club communications liaison) Walt Anderson does a great job. (NFL head of officiating) Ramon George does a great job.
“And they send these videos out and, of course, me and Stretch, we hang on to every word, and then I’ll see something in the game. I’m like, ‘Did they even watch the video?’ Like, me and Stretch are just like, pausing it, rewinding it. Like, ‘I love these videos.’ And then I’m like, ‘Hey, did you? Did you watch the video last week? Like they talked about this exact thing.’ Me and Stretch watch them.”
An offensive pass interference penalty on wide receiver Stefon Diggs erased a 61-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to DeMario Douglas. Replay showed minimal contact from Diggs, and the flag was thrown well after the play had concluded. Diggs was penalized for pass interference again late in the game on a 51-yard completion. It appeared that Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins was interfered with on the next play, another downfield pass, but the officials didn’t throw a flag.
The Patriots were still able to escape with a win. Vrabel might not be laughing if it was a different result.
