Officiating draws ire of Patriots following Sunday's loss to Carolina

Officiating was an issue for the Patriots in their 33-30 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.

A day after the defeat — a game where New England was whistled for seven penalties for 55 yards, including a pair of ill-timed calls against cornerback Stephon Gilmore late in the game — coach Bill Belichick talked about the need for fewer penalties across the board.

“We need fewer penalties, period. We had too many of them all throughout the game in multiple areas,” Belichick said after he was asked about the calls that went against Gilmore.

Asked for his thoughts on referee Jerome Boger and his crew, Belichick put it on his team.



“It doesn’t really matter what we think,” he said. “The only thing that matters is what the guy who has the flags thinks. We have to do a better job of coaching and playing in a way where we don’t get penalized.”

Overall, the Patriots have been in the middle of the pack for the first three games when it comes to penalties. Not including calls that were declined or offset, New England had taken 20 penalties (12th fewest) for 190 yards (15th fewest). But many players said Sunday’s game was called much tighter than usual, particularly when it came to the Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady took note of the fact that New England was whistled for seven penalties, while the Panthers were only flagged once.

“Yeah, I mean they called it pretty tight on us yesterday," Brady told WEEI on Monday. "I’ve watched the film a bunch of times. We just didn’t get the calls. I guess they got the calls and we didn’t get them.

"Some weeks you get those calls, some weeks you don’t,” he added. “We just didn’t get them yesterday, but still we’re not making any excuse. We didn’t get the job done offensively, defensively, special teams — I mean we just have to collectively do a better job if we’re going to win these games.”

Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who took his first offensive pass interference call since Nov. 2015 — said that the crew led by Boger was calling the game tighter than the week before.

“For sure, in some aspects,” Gronkowski said. “I felt like last week they let us play. This week, they didn’t really. They were calling it a little tight. But I mean, it is what it is. It’s a tough job out there. (The officials) do a great job every week, week-in, week-out, so can’t put anything on them. It’s a team game and we’ve got to go out and execute and make some plays.”

“(Gronkowski) is doing what he’s got to do to get open,” Brady said of the call against Gronkowski on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. “There was such minimal contact and the ref just felt, they were cued up ready to throw it. It is what it is. We didn’t get it.”

While the Patriots were able to get past the call against Gronkowski, an OPI call against Danny Amendola played a sizable role in stalling a first-quarter drive that ended in a punt.

“We overcame (the call against Gronkowski) and the one to Danny, we didn’t overcome,” Brady said. “Danny is just trying to get across the guy's face. The guy kind of contacted him, Danny is trying to shed him on his route. I don’t know what they can do more than that.”

Gronkowski’s offensive pass interference calls were a major issue in 2015, especially in the wake of a memorable loss to the Broncos in Denver. He had six OPI calls against him last year. The call on Sunday was the first one against him since then.

“It is what it is,” Gronkowski said. “Once you see a call like that, you’ve got to know what’s going on, what kind of game is being called, how to play the game. You just go with the flow. So, that’s what you’ve got to do.”