Bill Belichick was not shy about being aggressive before the first half, especially if there was a chance of two goals, with the team also getting the ball at the start of the third quarter.
Sunday evening, after an all-time goal line with his defense shutting down the Cowboys with four chances from a one-yard line late in the second quarter, the Patriots coach was satisfied with a 14-10 lead in the inning.
The Patriots recovered the ball to the 20-yard line, no timeout, with 1:30 left, with a chance to add a little more cooldown to that lead. So it was somewhat odd why Belichick would take his knee and run off the clock, without at least trying to get ahead with the ball.
When asked after the game, Belichick simply said it was because the Patriots were getting the ball to start the second half. No further explanation.
Pressed further during his video conference with the media on Monday, Belichick didn’t elaborate further. He’s gone for it in the past a few times.
Was there something about Dallas that tamed his aggressiveness? Was he trying to avoid a possible turnover?
Belichick still didn’t bite, saying that nothing had changed about the answer he gave after the match.
“We would have had the ball in the second half,” he said. “We wanted to settle into the second half at the end of the first. The same thing I said last night.”