Monday afternoon, Pat Chung confirmed what punter Zoltan Mesko originally told NESN earlier in the day: the botched fake punt in Sunday's loss that led to a New York Jets' touchdown was indeed Chung's call at the line.
Chung spoke to the media on Monday in a solemn Patriots' locker room and said, "Blame me."
"It's OK," Chung said when asked what the last 24 hours have been like for him. "I'll make the best of it I guess."
Regarding the bungled punt play, Chung put it all on himself. "Of course there are regrets, that's part of the game," Chung said. "That's part of the game. It's all on me. Not Bill [Belichick], not Scotty O [special teams coach Scott O'Brien], none of them, I take full responsibility."
Chung, a second year safety from Oregon who also serves as the up-man in the punt formation, said that he decided to call for the fake based on how the Jets were lined up.
"I just saw a look that we have, that's how it goes, you make the call," Chung said. "It didn't work out for us. So leave Bill alone. Leave Scotty O. alone. I'll take responsibility. Blame me."
He also refused to play the hypothetical game when asked if he could have reached the first down had he not fumbled the snap: "There's no 'if,' If I didn't catch it, that's part of the game. It's part of the game, some things happen, you have to bounce back from it. That's play's over now. That's my responsibility. It didn't work out for us."
"I take full responsibility... no one else."