The New York Jets were very aware of the New England Patriots' previous use of the illegal pushing technique on field goals, and the Jets' braintrust told NFL officials to watch out for the Patriots ulling those illegal stunts. The Jets actually notified the officiating crew during the game to watch out for for the illegal formation during the game.
The play ended up costing the Patriots as rookie Chris Jones committed the illegal infraction and the Patriots were penalized 15 yards setting up the Jets for a Nick Folk field goal to win 30-27 in overtime. The call caused controversy on Sunday.
Jets coach Rex Ryan alluded to the possibility of the Jets actually telling officials about the Patriots' illegal formation:
"'The coaches watch every single play of every single game, so we're aware of the opponents' tendencies and everything else.' In other words, he knew. Ryan declined to say whether that information was shared with his players, saying he'd 'leave that in-house,' and he also avoided the question of whether he tipped off officials before Sunday's game."
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[via ESPN]
