The game was on the line as the New England Patriots faced a 4th-and-1 late in the fourth quarter, trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers by a touchdown.
With pressure coming, quarterback Drake Maye got off a short pass to wide receiver DeMario Douglas just near the line to gain. Believing a defender was on his back, the shifty receiver made a move backwards in an effort to evade the tackle and create space for the first down.
Instead, Douglas was dragged down short of the sticks, sealing a 21-14 win for
the Steelers.
“Probably knife, go straight up,” Douglas said post game when asked if he would have done anything differently. “I thought [a defender was] right behind me, that’s what made me move.”
As Douglas pointed towards, getting north through the defenders was the coaching point from head coach Mike Vrabel.
“Probably have to just drop step and be able to knife. Know those are going to be bang-bang plays and try to split them and get the first down,” Vrabel said. “It’s hard to circle around some defenders. I didn’t have the best view of it. I would say that the decision that Pop made wasn’t the right one there just because we didn’t get it. Got to try to either drop step or make them miss.”
Prior to the play, the Steelers called a timeout in order to talk things over. During that time, Maye wishes he reminded his unit to do what was needed to pick up a first-down.
“I was expecting pressure, expecting to get something out quick. I wish I would have told those guys, ‘4th-and-1, just try to catch it and get up field,” he explained. “I wish I would have told them that in the huddle. Those little things go a long way. Nothing Pop did wrong, just he was trying to make a play.”
The Patriots had converted their first four fourth down tries on Sunday and largely controlled play against Pittsburgh. But failing on the fifth attempt, coupled with five total turnovers, leaves them just with a 1-2 record to open the season.
“It hurts,” Douglas said. “Nobody likes losing, especially the way we lost today.”
