On November 18, 2013, the last play of a Monday night game in Charlotte ended with a flag on the ground and the officials walking off the field. Tom Brady threw into the end zone from the Carolina 18 with 3 seconds left, Luke Kuechly had both arms around Rob Gronkowski, and rookie safety Robert Lester intercepted the pass.
An official at the back of the end zone threw a flag for pass interference. The officials talked, picked it up, and referee Clete Blakeman announced there was no foul. The Panthers won 24-20, their sixth win in a row. The Patriots never got the untimed down from the 1-yard line that a penalty would have given them.
Two 6-3 teams
Both teams came in 6-3. Carolina had the league’s top-ranked defense and had beaten San Francisco 10-9 eight days earlier. Rob Ninkovich of New England sacked Cam Newton twice that night.
Newton put Carolina ahead with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell on third down late in the first quarter, at the end of a 90-yard drive that included a 42-yard catch by Steve Smith. Graham Gano kicked a 43-yard field goal, and the Panthers led 10-3 at halftime after Stephen Gostkowski made one from 42. Stevan Ridley lost a fumble at the Carolina 13 in the second quarter, and Gronkowski had one catch for 14 yards in the first half.
New England tied it on the first drive of the second half, when Brady threw 9 yards to Gronkowski for a touchdown. Carolina had not allowed a touchdown in eight straight quarters before that. Newton answered with an 81-yard drive that took more than eight minutes. He completed all seven of his passes on it, escaped what could have been a big sack with a 14-yard scramble, and found Greg Olsen at the right pylon for a 17-10 lead.
| Time | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st quarter, 2:50 | Cam Newton throws 9 yards to Brandon LaFell for a touchdown | Panthers 7, Patriots 0 |
| 2nd quarter, 5:06 | Graham Gano kicks a 43-yard field goal | Panthers 10, Patriots 0 |
| 2nd quarter, 1:13 | Stephen Gostkowski kicks a 42-yard field goal | Panthers 10, Patriots 3 |
| 3rd quarter, 10:37 | Tom Brady throws 9 yards to Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown | Panthers 10, Patriots 10 |
| 3rd quarter, 2:19 | Newton throws 15 yards to Greg Olsen for a touchdown | Panthers 17, Patriots 10 |
| 4th quarter, 12:37 | Stevan Ridley runs 1 yard for a touchdown | Panthers 17, Patriots 17 |
| 4th quarter, 6:36 | Gostkowski kicks a 26-yard field goal | Patriots 20, Panthers 17 |
| 4th quarter, 1:09 | Newton throws 25 yards to Ted Ginn Jr. for a touchdown | Panthers 24, Patriots 20 |
| 4th quarter, 0:03 | Brady’s pass for Gronkowski is intercepted by Robert Lester in the end zone | Final: Panthers 24, Patriots 20 |
The fourth quarter
A 37-yard catch by rookie Kenbrell Thompkins set up Ridley’s 1-yard touchdown run, and it was 17-17. The Patriots then drove to the Carolina 8, where Brady’s third-down pass fell incomplete, and Gostkowski’s 26-yard field goal put New England ahead 20-17 with 6:32 left.
Newton took the Panthers 83 yards in 13 plays. He ran for a first down on third-and-6, hit Olsen for 14 yards, and a defensive holding call on Devin McCourty wiped out an incompletion on third-and-7 at the New England 36. After a false start pushed Carolina back to second-and-15 at the 25, Newton threw a short pass to Ted Ginn Jr., who got past Kyle Arrington along the left sideline and beat Logan Ryan to the pylon. Carolina led 24-20 with 59 seconds left.
59 seconds
New England started at its own 20. Brady’s first three passes fell incomplete. On fourth-and-10, he found Gronkowski for 23 yards to the 43, and the Patriots used their first timeout. Danny Amendola caught an 11-yard pass, and the Patriots used their second timeout with 29 seconds left.
Two more incompletions followed. On third-and-10, cornerback Melvin White was flagged for pass interference against Aaron Dobson, a 10-yard penalty to the Carolina 36. Shane Vereen caught an 11-yard pass in the middle of the field, Kuechly tackled him at the 25, and New England called its last timeout with 6 seconds left. Carolina called a timeout of its own. Dobson then caught a 7-yard pass and stepped out of bounds at the 18 with 3 seconds left.
On the last snap, Gronkowski ran toward the middle of the end zone with Kuechly playing him from behind. Brady’s pass came up short, and Lester caught it at the front of the end zone as Kuechly held Gronkowski. An official at the back of the end zone threw a flag. After the officials met, Blakeman announced that there was no foul, and the game was over. Brady ran after two officials to argue as they walked off the field.
| Time | Down and distance | Play |
|---|---|---|
| 0:59 | 1st-and-10 at NE 20 | Brady incomplete to Julian Edelman |
| 0:55 | 2nd-and-10 at NE 20 | Brady incomplete to Danny Amendola |
| 0:51 | 3rd-and-10 at NE 20 | Brady incomplete to Shane Vereen |
| 0:47 | 4th-and-10 at NE 20 | Brady to Rob Gronkowski for 23 yards; Patriots timeout |
| 0:35 | 2nd-and-10 at NE 43 | Brady to Amendola for 11 yards; Patriots timeout |
| 0:17 | 3rd-and-10 at CAR 46 | Incomplete; pass interference on Melvin White, 10 yards |
| 0:10 | 1st-and-10 at CAR 36 | Brady to Vereen for 11 yards; both teams call timeouts |
| 0:06 | 1st-and-10 at CAR 25 | Brady to Aaron Dobson for 7 yards, out of bounds |
| 0:03 | 2nd-and-3 at CAR 18 | Brady to Gronkowski, intercepted by Robert Lester; flag picked up |
Why the flag came up
Blakeman explained the decision after the game. “So there was a determination that, in essence, uncatchability, that the ball was intercepted at or about the same time the primary contact against the receiver occurred,” he said. In other words, the officials decided Gronkowski could not have caught the underthrown ball, because Lester was catching it at the moment Kuechly grabbed him.
The rulebook lists that situation among the things that are not pass interference: contact that would normally be a foul, “but the pass is clearly uncatchable by the involved players.” If the flag had stood, the penalty would have put the ball at the 1, and New England would have had one more play. A game cannot end on an accepted defensive foul, so the Patriots would have run an untimed down. Our pass interference guide covers how the foul is called and enforced.
“There was no explanation given to me. Officials ran off the field. I didn’t see anything,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “It was the last play of the game. There was a flag thrown, and then the game was over.”
Brady said he did not get a good look at the play, and he blamed his own throw. “I didn’t really want to throw it over his head and out of bounds, so I was a little indecisive,” he said. “It wasn’t a great throw. No excuses. Should have been a better throw.”
Kuechly said he had his back to Brady. “I was like, ‘Oh, jeez. I don’t know what this is going to be,'” he said of the flag. “I was just playing his eyes, playing his hands, waiting for his eyes to get big and his hands to go up.”
| Patriots | Panthers | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 24 |
| Total yards | 390 | 300 |
| Rushing yards | 107 | 103 |
| First downs | 28 | 20 |
| Third downs | 5 of 10 | 8 of 11 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 3 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 30:46 | 29:14 |
The numbers
Brady completed 29 of 40 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown and the interception. Vereen caught eight passes for 65 yards, and Gronkowski had five catches for 59 yards and the touchdown.
Newton completed 19 of 28 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns, without an interception, and ran seven times for 62 yards. The Panthers converted 8 of 11 third downs and did not turn the ball over. Thomas Davis made 17 tackles and Kuechly made 12. “It wasn’t our best defensive effort, but it was one of our better offensive efforts,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said, calling the win a “gutsy effort.”
What came next
Carolina won its next two games, at Miami and against Tampa Bay, for an eight-game winning streak. The Panthers finished 12-4, won the NFC South and earned a first-round bye, then lost to San Francisco 23-10 in the divisional round. Kuechly was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
New England rallied from 24 points down to beat Denver 34-31 in overtime the next Sunday night. The Patriots also finished 12-4, beat Indianapolis 43-22 in the playoffs and lost the AFC Championship Game at Denver 26-16.
This season, the Panthers host Denver and the Patriots host Green Bay on Sunday, November 8.
Related WhyNFL reading: how timeouts work and coach challenges and instant replay.
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