The first one came right after the two-minute warning, with the Patriots trailing, 16-7, but driving inside the Packers’ 10-yard line. On first and goal from the 7, Tom Brady threw incomplete to Brandon LaFell in the back of the end zone after feeling some pressure.

Three seemingly minor plays, in a three-minute stretch at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third quarter, had a major effect on the outcome. Had any of the three plays gone the Patriots’ way, the outcome could have been much different.

The final score on Sunday was 26-21, so I don’t need to tell you that the Patriots-Packers game was a close one. But the Patriots didn’t necessarily lose this game because they abandoned the run game, or didn’t get enough pressure on Aaron Rodgers, or couldn’t connect on deep passes.


The incompletion itself wasn’t a huge deal — Brady threw a touchdown to LaFell two plays later. But, more importantly, the play only ran five seconds off the clock, down to 1:51. The Patriots ran the ball on second down, and scored their touchdown on a play that began with 1:14 left in the half – way too much time for Aaron Rodgers, who then led the Packers 81 yards for a backbreaking touchdown.

We’re not second-guessing the play call, but I bet in a moment of honesty, Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels wish they had run the ball on first down to run some more time off the clock.

The second play was the Packers’ touchdown itself, a 45-yarder to Jordy Nelson. The play proved that one tiny little misstep can have a disastrous effect.

Darrelle Revis thought he had help over the top from Devin McCourty, so opened his hips to funnel Nelson into the middle of the field. McCourty, though, didn’t diagnose the play correctly. He took two steps toward the sideline, thinking it would be a deep sideline fade, and had his back turned to the alley in which Nelson would streak down the field.


When Nelson caught the ball in stride, McCourty had to plant, turn around, accelerate from 0 and try to catch up with Nelson, who was already in a full sprint. Game over.

The third play came on third and 13 with 14:25 left in the third quarter. Brady and the offense set up at the line of scrimmage with 16 seconds left on the play clock. Brady played with the protection and called audibles at the line of scrimmage, and burned a timeout just before taking a delay of game penalty. But taking the penalty probably was the best course of action on a low-percentage play like third and 13.

The Patriots sorely missed that timeout at the end of the game, when the Packers kneeled the ball out with two minutes left and the Patriots out of timeouts.

One incompletion. Two false steps. And one timeout. Add up the tiny miscues, and it led to a heartbreaking Patriots loss.

Other observations after watching the game:

When the Patriots had the ball

■ Thought the Patriots would try to get their power running game going with LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray, but their inability to do so was mostly a function of getting behind the chains with penalties, having quick drives fizzle out to start the first and second half, and trailing by more than one score for a good chunk of the game.


■ The Patriots used the two-tight end set on 29 of 56 snaps to try to take advantage of matchups against the Packers linebackers and safeties. They also had success throwing the ball over the middle of the field to Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell, who did a good job of finding holes in the Packers’ zone defense.

■ LaFell has really become Brady’s security blanket – three of nine drives began with a pass to LaFell, plus three targets in the red zone.

■ Brady also showed tremendous pocket movement and ability to avoid the rush. I wonder if he’s been taking boxing lessons – the movement needed to maneuver in the pocket is similar to a fighter in the ring. He’s still not giving his receivers a chance on deep balls, though.

■ Blount only had 10 carries and 19 snaps, but he made them count. Of his 58 rushing yards, I counted 44 after initial contact. Those back-to-back 13-yard runs at the start of the fourth quarter are among the best you’ll ever see. And Brandon Bolden did a nice job in only six snaps, making three Packers defenders miss on his touchdown run. Ryan Wendell and Gronk had the key blocks on that run, and Bolden did the rest himself. Still don’t understand why the Patriots continue to run Shane Vereen up the middle, though. I know you have to keep defenses honest with him in the game, but running him into the teeth of the defense is not a high-percentage play.


■ An OK game from the offensive line overall. Wendell had some great run blocks, springing Bolden for a 12-yard run in addition to the touchdown. Nate Solder had a clean game until the fourth quarter, when he allowed Clay Matthews to hit Brady on the incompletion to Gronk in the end zone, and then was beaten around the edge by Mike Neal for the crucial sack that ruined any chance of a late touchdown. Dan Connolly got pushed around by Josh Boyd in the run game, got bullrushed by Mike Daniels and was busted for holding, then allowed the pressure from Daniels on that sack with Neal late in the fourth. Bryan Stork also got pushed around by Letroy Guion and Daniels, and Marcus Cannon was totally ineffective in his seven snaps as the sixth offensive lineman. He was beaten badly by Matthews, who got his hand on the football as Brady released his pass. The Patriots need Cameron Fleming back in that role.

When the Packers had the ball

■ The Patriots’ game plan was obvious – drop seven or eight into coverage and keep Rodgers contained in the pocket. They utilized a lot of zone pressure to try to confuse him – not only did Rob Ninkovich drop off into coverage, but Akeem Ayers was active in this regard, as well – but the first time they truly blitzed him (sending five rushers) came with 23 seconds left in the first half. The result of the play? You guessed it — Nelson’s touchdown. The Patriots only blitzed four times in 41 dropbacks. Rodgers completed three of those passes for 59 yards, and the fourth was Davante Adams’s dropped touchdown.


■ The tactics gave Rodgers all day to throw. Using the Greg Bedard Memorial Stopwatch, I counted seven plays in which Rodgers had an absurd amount of time to throw. There was a third and 8 in the first quarter in which 5.6 seconds elapsed between Rodgers receiving the snap and releasing the throw (the pass was incomplete). He had 6.4 seconds to find Adams for 33 yards on a broken play, and 3.8 seconds to find Richard Rodgers for his 32-yard touchdown. But he threw incomplete on the last four of such plays, having 4.9 seconds, 6.3 seconds, 4.25 seconds, and a whopping 11.6 seconds to try to find a receiver. Simply an admirable effort by the Patriots cornerbacks for hanging with their receivers.

■ The Patriots became so consumed with containing Rodgers that on third and 7 in the fourth quarter, they only rushed two defenders, and formed a three-man wall at the line of scrimmage to spy on Rodgers. He found Andrew Quarless for a 9-yard gain and a first down, anyway.

■ The defense settled down once Logan Ryan (who bit badly on a double move by Adams for a 45-yarder) was replaced in the lineup by Kyle Arrington. Revis moved over to Nelson, Browner to Adams, and Arrington to Randall Cobb, though they mixed and matched throughout the second half. The Patriots tried to play two-deep zone, but Eddie Lacy’s hard running (98 yards on 4.7 yards per carry) forced them to bring Patrick Chung down into the box and leave McCourty alone up top. Chung played 72 of 73 snaps and had another solid tackling performance in the run game.

■ Some great scheming by Mike McCarthy in this one. No, Ninkovich wasn’t supposed to be matched up one-on-one on Cobb running a wheel route, but Arrington got picked by Adams and couldn’t get over there in time to stop the 33-yard catch.

■ Dont’a Hightower gets my vote for Most Improved Patriot this year. He has been fantastic in all phases of the game, and was excellent once again Sunday. He was decisive in the run game, with many of his 10 tackles coming near the line of scrimmage and one for loss. He was always in the right place in zone coverage. And he had a pressure and a sack, the latter of which came on a three rush – Ayers and Ninkovich both dropped off into zone, and Hightower came screaming through untouched.

■ Not a good game for Jamie Collins in the run game, however. He was a step slow in recognizing the holes and took some bad angles. He did an admirable job of covering Lacy in the passing game, however. He filled up the stat sheet with 13 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

■ The front four held their own against the Packers’ run game, and actually got a decent amount of pressure on Rodgers despite not getting much help. DT Alan Branch had some nice stuffs in the run game and contributed well in his 22 snaps. Chris Jones also held his own in the run game, and was rewarded with a coverage sack. Ninkovich was burned on those two wheel routes, but once again was relentless with his pass rush and run coverage, with a nice tackle for loss in the third quarter. Ayers also had a couple of pressures against LT David Bakhtiari.

Special teams

■ Tough day to kick the ball, as witnessed by two reliable kickers missing makeable kicks – Mason Crosby from 40 yards and Stephen Gostkowski from 47. Gostkowski didn’t have a touchback in four kickoffs, the first time this season he’s been shut out, while only two of Crosby’s seven kickoffs went for touchbacks.

Week 13: Packers 26, Patriots 21

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin