The New England Patriots could’ve been resting next Sunday with the AFC’s best record all wrapped up.
Instead, a chain reaction of unorthodox decisions, confusion over the rulebook and bad defence left Tom Brady stranded on the sideline in overtime and kept the top seed up for grabs.
New England fell 26-20 to the New York Jets on Sunday – a loss that will be remembered for Bill Belichick’s decision to give the ball to New York on the first possession of overtime and Pats receiver Matt Slater’s bungling of that choice after winning the coin toss.
The team that wins the coin toss actually can choose from three options: kick or receive – or defend their choice of end zone.
Even though it was warm and not all that windy, Belichick instructed Slater to choose to defend the north end zone if the Patriots won the toss, meaning New York would almost certainly then choose to receive the kickoff. But after Slater won by calling heads, the first words out of his mouth were, “We want to kick.” That meant the Patriots had to kick the ball away, and the Jets, not New England, got to choose the direction.
Confusing.
Then, even more bafflingly, the Patriots defence barely resisted, allowing Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets to go 80 yards in five plays for the winning touchdown.
Belichick had won an overtime game two years ago using the “take the wind” strategy. He insisted there was no confusion about his plan this time.
“I thought it was the best thing to do,” he said.
But nothing went the way the coach drew it up.
And because of that, the Patriots (12-3) will not get to rest starters next Sunday at the Miami Dolphins. They’ll go into the game needing a win to guarantee themselves the top seed in the AFC.
In case you missed it, here are the other hot topics after the second-to-last week of the NFL season:
Not undefeated: Instead of thinking about a perfect season, the Carolina Panthers now have to worry about locking down the best record in the NFC. The Panthers fell 20-13 to the Atlanta Falcons for their first loss in 15 games this season – and their first regular-season loss since November 30, 2014. (Side note: See bottom of this page to check out Julio Jones of the Falcons with his leaping, go-ahead touchdown catch.) The Carolina loss, combined with the Arizona Cardinals' 38-8 crushing of the Green Bay Packers, means that if the Cardinals (13-2) win and Panthers lose next week, Carolina would drop to No 2 in the conference. Oh, and yes, members of the perfect and still-unmatched 1972 Miami Dolphins finally partook in their annual celebration of still being undefeated alone.
Not taking care of business: Also failing to lock things down Sunday were the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were on a three-game winning streak, playing their best football of the season and favoured by double-digits. And they lost. The 20-17 setback to the Baltimore Ravens could cost them a play-off spot. At 9-6, Pittsburgh need to win next week and get help – either a loss by the Jets or two losses by the Broncos.
The secret is timing: It's a game of inches – and seconds – and if somehow the Indianapolis Colts sneak into the play-offs, they can thank Miami backup centre Jamil Douglas. His mistimed snap on fourth-and-goal from the Indy 5-yard line with 40 seconds left led to a Colts' sack of Ryan Tannehill. That wrapped an 18-12 victory that kept Indianapolis in the hunt – barely – with Houston for the AFC South title. "Bad play by me," Douglas said. To stay in it, Indianapolis still need lots of things to go their way, starting with a Denver Broncos win Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ground Manziel: It's December. Time to rev up those running games, right? Unprecedented warmth in the East has pretty much put a stop to that. The second-leading rusher in Sunday's games: Try Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, with 108 yards. The only running backs to hit triple digits were Tim Hightower (122) of the New Orleans Saints, DeAngelo Williams (100) of the Steelers and, of course, Adrian Peterson (104) of the Minnesota Vikings.
Fantasy feet: Despite playing with a torn ligament in the bottom of his right foot, Drew Brees threw for 412 yards in the Saints' 38-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The unlikely trio of Brees, Kirk Cousins and Blake Bortles were the highest producing quarterbacks in this, championship week in most fantasy football leagues. Meanwhile, one of the biggest point producers this season, Cam Newton, struggled and didn't even manage 20 points in standard leagues.
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The%20specs
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Honeymoonish
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
