I agree. Throw that ball into the third row of seats if the opening isn't there. They had two timeouts and two downs to push it in with Lynch or even a bootleg by Wilson. But Butler made a quick move on the ball and its possible Wilson didn't see that coming. He saw the shotgun and knew enough to hang back rather than clog the middle against the run which obviously wasn't coming on that down. Like I said a pass play in that situation isn't necessarily a bad call, it just has to be the right pass. I still say a fade to the deep corner with a tall wideout rather than a slant would have been a better call if you're going to pass in that situation.
But what do I know? I'm just an armchair general who didn't have a dog in the fight. Just wanted to see a good game between two good teams and I think we got that.
I heard that they practiced the play with Butler during the week, and he was beat bad. So, he was ready for the play. Must have been a play that’s worked for them in the past.
The other thing, is that the Patriots did NOT call time out and lined up right away. That shows confidence and poise.
I don’t think Lynch would have scored that easily.