‘What else is there to think about?’ Bill Belichick explained the Patriots’ final play call vs. the Seahawks – Boston.com

September 21, 2020 | 1:28 AM

After a dramatic back-and-forth game ended with the Patriots getting stopped one yard — and one touchdown — short of victory, Bill Belichick had a predictably understated and concise reaction.

“I thought our team competed hard,” Belichick said of the Patriots’ 4th-quarter comeback attempt. “We scored, we covered the kickoff, got the ball back and got it to the one-yard line, and Seattle made a good play, so I give them credit. They deserved to win.”

New England trailed by double-digit margins twice in the second half, and was behind by 12 points with 4:32 remaining in the game. Yet Cam Newton and the Patriots offense rallied, and after a defensive stop, New England had a chance to win.

It wasn’t until the Seahawks managed to tackle Newton at the goal-line with no time remaining that the outcome was finally decided.

Asked about the call on the game’s final play, Belichick stayed away from a question comparing the situation to the end of Super Bowl XLIX (and Seattle’s infamous decision to pass instead of run). Instead, the Patriots’ coach focused on the situation.

“We had one play to score and we tried to go with what we thought was our best play,” said Belichick. “What else is there to think about?”

GOAL LINE STOP FOR THE WIN. #Seahawks #NEvsSEA pic.twitter.com/0DgwjGoNxw

— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2020

The Patriots were on the back-foot for much of the game thanks to Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw five touchdown passes.

Belichick praised Wilson and the Seahawks, and noted that he was thankful New England only plays AFC West teams once every four years in the format of the NFL schedule.

“Played a great quarterback,” Belichick said of Wilson. “Glad we only have to play him once every four years. He’s a tremendous player. They have a lot of good players. In the end, we just came up a little bit short. Proud of the way that our guys competed here. We just didn’t quite have enough.”