Julian Edelman, New England Patriots. (Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman criticized the officials during Sunday’s Patriots-Tampa Bay Buccaneers play after a questionable call on Matthew Slater.
Given that it is NFL Sunday, you are bound to see a questionable call made by the on-field officials. That certainly appeared to be the case during the primetime matchup between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In the third quarter, the Patriots punted the ball to the Buccaneers with a 7-6 lead. New England’s special teams ace Matthew Slater forced a fumble on returner Jaydon Mickens, which was recovered by the the Patriots. However, Slater was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for running out of bounds and back onto the field of play. But, as Mike Giardi of NFL Network notes in his tweet below, the replay appeared to show that Slater was pushed out of bounds.
Julian Edelman was not happy about questionable call on Matthew Slater
While Patriots fans were far from pleased about the call, they can say that former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman felt the same way. Edelman actually took to Instagram Live to voice his displeasure about the call.
The penalty turned out to be costly for the Patriots, as former quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers capitalized on the penalty. On the eighth-play of their drive, running back Ronald Jones rushed into the end zone to give Tampa Bay a 13-7 lead. After the drive, Slater was seen talking to the referee about the call, via Zack Cox of NESN.
But, things worked out just fine for the Patriots, as rookie quarterback Mac Jones found tight end Jonnu Smith in the end zone to retake the lead 14-13 on the next drive.
However this game ends, there will be plenty of Patriots fans talking about the call on Slater.