FOXBOROUGH – It was a holiday heartbreak.
A valiant Patriots comeback fell short on Christmas Eve when a doorstep fumble sealed the Bengals’ 22-18 victory at Gillette Stadium Saturday.
After roaring back from a 22-0 halftime hole with 18 straight points, New England appeared poised to complete a Christmas miracle when Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled — just the second of his career — to end the ride.
“I was trying to make something happen and probably, probably doing, more than I was supposed to do,’’ said Stevenson, who’s initial lateral in Las Vegas triggered the calamitous ending against the Raiders. “I probably should have just gone down. But ultimately, he took the ball from me, and I fumbled.’’
It appeared as though Stevenson’s forward progress may have been stopped but officials kept the play alive.
In the pool report, referee Craig Wrolstad defended the decision not to end the play.
“In order to have forward progress, the runner has to be controlled by the defense. He has to be held and controlled, and basically have his feet taken away,’’ Wrolstad said. “We felt that he still had his feet. So, we did not feel that he was held and controlled by the defense. He was still free to gain yardage and then also, obviously, there was still a chance that he could fumble.”
Stevenson declined to voice his opinion.
“I mean, it doesn’t really matter what I think — they called a fumble,’’ he said. “Just playing through the whistle. I don’t know if the whistle was blowing or not. Regardless, I dropped the ball.’’
Several players, including Kendrick Bourne, believed Stevenson’s forward progress was stopped.
The disheartening loss dealt a severe blow to Bill Belichick’s club, which dropped to 7-8 and faces must-win games against the Dolphins and Bills just to have a chance at a postseason berth.
“Losing a game that you really needed to win, that’s sour,’’ said Jakobi Meyers. “We’ll listen to the leaders in the locker room, though, and I think we’ll be all right.’’
Matthew Judon, who had a sack and forced fumble, said this group will remain resilient as long as there’s games left to play.
“Stuff ain’t been going our way, bro,’’ said Judon. “But one thing you’ll never see is us quit.’’
Burrow was cool, then cooled off
The Patriots dominated the second half, befuddling the Bengals and turning the “Cool” Joe Burrow of the first half into “Confused” Joe Burrow after the break.
Burrow threw for 289 yards — the most first-half yards ever against a Belichick team — and three touchdowns over the first 30 minutes.
A week after beating Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, Burrow looked very Brady-like in New England.
The third-year quarterback distributed the ball to his myriad weapons, took what the defense gave him, and answered every challenge. When the Bengals needed 9, Burrow got 10.
He threw for just 91 yards after intermission as the Patriots mixed things up and Burrow’s darts, which were pinpoint early, were often off target.
“It was up and down to say the least. I’m never going to apologize for winning,’’ said Burrow. “Obviously, a lot of room to improve. First half was about as good as it gets, and then after that we kind of shot ourselves in the foot over and over and over again. But found a way to do it.’’
Mac Jones rebounded
As brilliant as Burrow was, his counterpart, Mac Jones struggled mightily until the fourth quarter, when a rekindled connection with Bourne provided glimmers of hope.
Jones looked uncomfortable and discombobulated early, completing just 5 of 8 passes for 34 yards before the break. He bounced back with 206 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns to help fuel the comeback, even with chants of “Zappe, Zappe” echoing through the crowd.
Jones hit Bourne with five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in the second half — part of Bourne’s first career 100-yard game.
“That guy’s a warrior,’’ said Bourne. “That’s what we need.’’
Jones put the offense’s slow start on his shoulders.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to score more points and that falls on me as a quarterback,’’ he said. “Super disappointed.’’
Marcus Jones astounded
The legend of Marcus Jones continues to grow.
The rookie again made an impact in all three phases of the game and his 69-yard pick-6 of Burrow sparked New England’s comeback.
When Burrow bellowed “bomber, bomber” at the line to check into a different play, it was Jones who pulled off the explosive play. As Ja’Marr Chase bolted down the sideline, Jones broke off his coverage and stepped in front of Burrow’s spiral. He then jumped over Burrow en route to the end zone.
Jones, who has now scored on special teams, offense, and defense this season, led the Patriots with 14 tackles and had one catch for 15 yards and 76 total return yards.
“He’s just ridiculous,’’ Mac Jones said about Marcus.
Credit Scotty Washington with an assist
The Patriots lost both starting tight ends to injuries as Hunter Henry went down with a knee ailment in the first half and Jonnu Smith was brought to the locker room for a concussion evaluation in the fourth quarter. Neither returned.
Enter Scotty Washington, who was elevated from the practice squad Friday and was forced into action on the final three drives.
He earned an assist of sorts as Mac Jones’s heave to the end zone bounced off Washington’s hands and into Meyers’s mitts for an unlikely 48-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 22-18 in the fourth quarter.
Read more about the Patriots’ loss to the Bengals
- Instant Analysis: No moral victories for Patriots, who squandered several opportunities in bad loss to the Bengals
- Where has Kendrick Bourne been? It’s a fair question.
- How it happened: Patriots score 18 unanswered points, but can’t finish out the rally as playoff hopes take a dive
- Robert Kraft, Patriots welcome fan who gracefully handled Las Vegas incident
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.