Patriots: Brian Hoyer’s excuses for horrific plays are unacceptable for a veteran

Patriots backup QB Brian Hoyer played terrible on Monday and there’s really no excuse.

When the Patriots announced that Brian Hoyer would start their postponed Week 4 matchup with Kansas City, most fans understood the decision. Not only did he beat out Jarrett Stidham for the backup job at training camp, but his experience (12 years) would prove to be invaluable against a juggernaut in the Chiefs who generally hold serve at Arrowhead.

When all was said and done, however, both quarterbacks received playing time and head coach Bill Belichick waited too long to pull the plug on Hoyer, who played one of the worst games you will see from a signal caller at the NFL level.

The Patriots could’ve very well come out on top in this one if Cam Newton was under center, but they instead faltered to the tune of a 26-10 defeat, wasting an exceptional performance from their undermanned defense.

Unfortunately for Hoyer, he didn’t do himself any favors in the postgame presser. The 34-year-old made excuses that fans simply shouldn’t be hearing from a veteran who is so respected around the league.

Among the lowlight of mistakes, Hoyer took a sack at the end of the first half deep in Chiefs territory after appearing to believe the Patriots had a timeout remaining. Little did he know, however, that their final one was used just a couple of plays earlier. He also tanked another promising drive with a lost fumble on third down.

"“I cost us at least six points, so I’ve got to do a better job there,” Hoyer told reporters. “I just had a mental error that. We had a chance to throw at the end zone, everyone was off and covered, and I’ve just got to throw it away.“Josh (McDaniels) said to me in the helmet, ‘Let’s take a shot, and no bad plays.’ I looked, and I knew I was in the pocket, so I didn’t want to intentionally ground. I’ve just got to do a better job of just throwing it over someone’s head.”"

We commend Hoyer for manning up and taking responsibility for his mistakes, but this is seriously all he could offer? It would be an entirely different story if we were talking about a couple of errant throws, but he made boneheaded blunders that you would expect from a rookie gunslinger making his first career start.

Perhaps his most egregious error came on the fumble, when he held the pigskin for close to four seconds (!) before being strip-sacked by Chiefs defensive end Taco Charlton. The maddening part about this play is that Hoyer, despite literally being tapped on the shoulder by the young pass rusher before the sack, somehow didn’t feel the pressure.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1313281034750889986

"“Obviously, we’re in field goal range, and I was getting ready to throw it, and I’ve just got to do a better job of protecting the football,” Hoyer said trying to defend that mistake. “It’s disappointing (being benched). You never want to get taken out of a game. But coach made a decision, and I understand. Two bad decisions down in the red area really cost us points.”"

Telling the media what they want to hear after an awful performance was a strange hill to die on for Hoyer, and we honestly expect a lot better from a veteran of his billing.

Patriots fans likely still have a sour taste in their mouths following that loss, and they should be on their knees praying that Newton tests negative and is cleared to return for Week 5 following Monday’s horror show under center.

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