Bill Belichick's resume speaks for itself - the man has won three Super Bowls and helped to turn a doormat franchise into a borderline dynasty. As far as people in New England are concerned, his reputation is cemented.
But Sunday night wasn't one for Belichick's personal highlight reel. In fact, he essentially cost the Patriots a game that would likely have driven a dagger through archrival Indy's heart.
Belichick's questionable decisions left the Patriots without a timeout in crunch time, forcing an ill-fated fourth-and-a-mile attempt and leaving the Pats no hope of stopping the clock in the final minutes. What they ended up with were two grossly overthrown lobs from Cassell and a botched lateral play during a maddening final "drive."
Ugly doesn't even do it justice.
What's most frustrating, though, is that it didn't have to be that way. Belichick illogically chased points early in the second half on a two-point try, challenged a strange play that cost his team a timeout and wasted another precious time-stopper while wavering on whether to go for a fourth-down conversion. There are plenty of doctors administering tests to players on the sideline all the time - did anyone think to check the coach for concussion symptoms?
For me it all started with the two-point conversion. An impressive, methodical march gave the Pats a 12-7 lead midway through the third period and seemed to knock Indy on its heels. But rather than take the PAT, Belichick opted for a two-point try, which failed when Kevin Faulk's rump touched the turf before he stretched the ball over the goal line. This gaffe was magnified later, when Indy answered with a scoring drive of its own and added a successful two-point try, building a 15-12 advantage.
Here's the thing - if the Pats don't go for two, neither do the Colts. That leaves the score at 14-13 following Indy's touchdown, and potentially changes the complexion down the stretch. In the NFL, you are taught not to chase points until you absolutely have to. Operating with a lead in the third period on the road doesn't strike me as desperation time.
It turned into it, though, because earlier Belichick challenged an odd play and cost his team a timeout. Later, on a fourth-and-one from deep in Indy territory, he rushed onto the field to stop the play (which looked like a successful conversion, by the way) and kick a field goal. Having already burned another timeout, the Pats were left to operate down the stretch without the ability to stop the clock. That forced them into a fourth-and-forever that Indy easily snuffed out, and the Pats could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Colts melted the clock below 30 seconds - deftly using two of the timeouts they had saved along the way - pinning the Pats deep with no hope of doing anything.
There were other reasons the Patriots came up short, of course. Jabar Gaffney let a sure touchdown slip through his fingers on a perfect throw from Cassell, and David Thomas committed the stupidest penalty of the season to set up the impossible fourth down with about four minutes remaining.
But neither mistake, on its own, was deadly. The dropped touchdown didn't help, the unnecessary roughness didn't help. But you overcome both if you have a timeout or two in your pocket and you have an extra point on the scoreboard.
The bigger point may be this - the game ultimately highlighted an interesting shift for the Patriots: The season is no longer about Matt Cassell. He's playing at a level more than high enough to win football games, as evidenced not only by his overall performance but also his strike to Gaffney and another on-the-money bullet to Randy Moss on a key third-down slant play.
Cassell is no longer the concern. The concern now is injuries in the offensive and defensive backfields, the defense's inability to slow anyone down for long periods of time, and - after Sunday - Belichick's ability to close out a game mentally.
It's a strange place to be as a Patriots fan. It used to be I entered the final two minutes of any game with complete and total confidence in Belichick and Brady to make things happen. After watching on Sunday, I feel anything but. And Cassell has nothing to do with that equation. If you had predicted that scenario three weeks ago, I'd have tried to sell you my oceanfront property in South Dakota.
And now it gets interesting. Last night, the Pats had a chance to stake claim to the driver's seat in the AFC East race. Now we enter the stretch drive in a three-way tie. It's going to be a frantic fight to the finish, where - and I quote one Kevin Garnett - anything is possible. It's the kind of race where having a timeout or a challenge in your pocket in the latter stages might make the difference between participating in the playoffs and watching them.
That being the case, let's hope Sunday was a lesson and not a forecast.
