The Patriots’ loss at Arizona came down to the goal line.

The Pats got stuffed on consecutive hand-offs at the Cardinals’ 1-yard line in the third quarter and ultimately turned the ball over on downs, when Rhamondre Stevenson was stopped short running left on fourth-and-goal. Three drives later, Arizona punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown to go up 23-3 and effectively put the game away.

Asked about his offense’s failures near the goal line, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo seemed to question the team’s play-calling post-game when it was mentioned rookie quarterback Drake Maye could have been used as a potential rushing threat.

“You said it,” Mayo told the reporter. “I didn’t.”

Maye has yet to take the ball on a designed quarterback run or option play this season. Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who calls the team’s offensive plays, have both sounded more open to utilizing Maye as a runner in recent weeks. Despite not being involved in the Patriots’ run game, Maye entered Sunday as the team’s rushing leader since making his starting debut in Week 6 thanks to his scrambles.

Mayo later attempted to take ownership of the decisions near the goal line, where the Patriots handed off to Antonio Gibson on third-and-goal and then Stevenson.

“It’s always my decision. I would say the quarterback, obviously, has a good pair of legs, and does a good job running the ball,” he said. “We just chose not to do it there.”