KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Belichick didn’t give many direct answers about the New England Patriots’ embarrassing 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, as we’ve come to expect.
Perhaps Belichick’s clearest answer came when he had “no response” as the Chiefs’ public relations staff transcribed after the game. Belichick scoffed when asked if the quarterback position will be evaluated this week. The fact that Belichick didn’t go with the expected “We’ll do what’s best for our football team” is telling.
Belichick was prodded about why he started two rookie offensive linemen on the road in a hostile environment.
“We were trying to win the game.”
Is the offensive line fixable?
“I don’t know. Our team has got to go to work.”
Belichick opened his news conference praising the Patriots’ opponents.
“Obviously, we didn’t have a good game tonight. It was disappointing,” Belichick said Monday night. “The Chiefs played well, and we just really didn’t play well enough at all.”
Belichick and the Patriots are in an unfamiliar place. Now 2-2 and getting set to face a 3-0 Cincinnati Bengals team that had an extra week to prepare coming off a bye, the Patriots are vulnerable. The New England offense had its issues in 2013, but they started the season 4-0 despite them. This is much, much worse.
It would be one thing if the Patriots’ offense was the only unit struggling, but the defense, which has the potential to carry them to a Super Bowl given its elite talent, was terrible on Monday night, allowing nearly 500 yards to a so-so Chiefs offense.
Belichick needs to start providing some answers, and while he’ll never do so in front of the media, he and his coaching staff needs to take the brunt of the accountability to the team.
Photo via John Rieger/USA TODAY Sports Images
