Patriots Lose to Jets in Overtime After Electing to Kick

The New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets, 26-20, but not before confusion broke out during the overtime coin flip.

New England won the toss before the extra session—and that's when things got weird. The Patriots' Matthew Slater said his team wanted to kick, and he gave a direction. However, it was at that point that he realized something wasn't right.

But it was too late.

Here's the transcript of Slater's conversation with referee Clete Blakeman, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com:

Rarely does an NFL team elect to kick the ball to start overtime. If the squad that gets it first scores a touchdown, the game is over. However, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, the Patriots did indeed want to kick off:

Or maybe...

After the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick explained the decision:

He wasn't alone in thinking that:

New York drove 80 yards in five plays to score the game-winning touchdown, preventing Tom Brady from stepping on the field in the extra period. With the victory, the Jets now face a win-and-you're-in scenario in Week 17.

[Twitter, h/t The Big Lead]