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The Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots served a delicious finale in the NFL's Week 12 tripleheader on Thanksgiving Day on Thursday. The back-and-forth game had plenty of action and talking points, as neither team allowed the other to build a lead of more than one score. In the end, the Vikings won 33-26, largely due to some outstanding catches from Justin Jefferson. They improved to a 9-2 record.
While the game was terrific, it was overshadowed by some debatable calls from the officiating crew. The Patriots were on the receiving end of some questionable calls, particularly Hunter Henry's touchdown catch, which was chalked off as an incomplete pass. Watch the play below:
The officiating crew also missed a facemask call on a third-down incompletion from Mac Jones. Not to mention a holding call on Kene Nwangwu's kickoff return for a touchdown. Both plays proved to be critical in deciding the outcome of the game.
Patriots fans on social media did not hold back in their criticism of the officiating crew:
WARNING: NSFW language
Patriots have a special teams nightmare vs. Vikings
Under head coach Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots have always taken pride in having a terrific special teams unit. But on Thanksgiving Day against the Minnesota Vikings, the unit had an awful outing.
Their special teams gave up a 97-yard touchdown to Kene Nwangnu immediately after the Patriots took the lead with a touchdown. While the play should have been chalked off with a holding penalty against the Vikings, they could have done better.
Special teams player Pierre Strong was penalized for running into the kicker during a punt, which resulted in a five-yard penalty and a first down. It proved to be a costly penalty as the Vikings went on to score the game-winning touchdown on the ensuing drive.
The poor performances proved to be their downfall against the Vikings on Thursday night. Coach Bill Belichick will write off the controversial calls from the officiating crew as a one-off. However, he will likely give his special teams unit an earful when they break the game down during the film session.
New England's next game is also a Thursday night encounter. They will take on the Buffalo Bills in a crucial divisional clash next week. It will be interesting to see how they respond in that match.
