Patriots cornerback frustrated over ‘late’ controversial penalty

Story by

Story by
Patriots cornerback frustrated over ‘late’ controversial penalty

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Sun, Dec 14, 2025 ·

3 min read

About Our Ads

FOXBOROUGH – When the pass fell incomplete, Carlton Davis thought the Patriots had finally stopped Josh Allen in the second half. Instead, the veteran cornerback grew frustrated as the on-field official threw a late, crucial flag in the Patriots' loss to the Buffalo Bills .

At 8:19 of the fourth quarter, Allen attempted to connect with Keon Coleman on third-and-4 at the 47-yard line. As the receiver dove to his left, Davis was right behind him and defended the play with his left hand briefly on Coleman's hip and his right hand outstretched near the ball.

For a moment, the Patriots thought they had forced the Bills to punt the ball. Instead, a late, 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty was called on Davis. Three plays later, James Cook scored a game-winning touchdown for Buffalo.

After the game, Davis said he was unhappy about the call.

"It's frustrating. You know what's on the line. This game is so close, and it comes down to a game of inches, and at that moment, you're either going to throw the flag or you're not," Davis said. "You don't take 10 seconds to throw a flag. Like, if it's a definitive flag, throw it. If it's not, let us play. You know what I mean?"

The penalty gave the Bills all the momentum they needed.

The Patriots were outscored 28-7 in the second half on Sunday. The defense struggled to get off the field. After the Bills took their first lead of the game, at 10:03 of the fourth quarter, Treveyon Henderson scored on a 65-yard touchdown run 14 seconds later.

That's why the penalty on Davis was so big.

Had the play been ruled an incomplete pass, the Bills would've had to decide to go for it on fourth-and-4 near midfield.

The replay showed there was minimal contact by Davis on Coleman. Patriots fans on social media were enraged, and the Patriots cornerback understood why more than anyone.

"I mean, you can see how late the flag came out," Davis said. "Like, if it's a flag, it's like definitive, you know, throw the flag. If it's not a flag, in a close game like this, you got to let us play. You know what I'm saying? So just by seeing how late the flag came in, I think we're all thinking the same thing."

Davis also suffered a groin injury in Sunday's loss.

The veteran briefly left the game in the third quarter and was ruled 'questionable' to return. Cornerback Charles Woods took Davis's place on the defense. He returned for the final two drives in the fourth quarter.

Davis said he wasn't going to let that injury keep him from returning to the game.

"That's in my DNA," Davis said. "I know what's on the line, and it's so hard to watch your team play and not be able to be out there and contribute, especially when I'm needed or when it's a close game. And obviously, we know what's on the line, the division. We know number one seed, everything's on the line. I'm not about to stay out. If I got a limp out there, I'm going to limp. Credit to the trainers. Came in here, we did some good exercises that allowed me to get a couple of drives in, and that was it."

More Patriots Content