MINNEAPOLIS — Bill Belichick wasn’t quite giddy Sunday after the New England Patriots’ 30-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings, but the head coach was positive, genuinely pleasant and showed rare reflection.
The Patriots’ victory marked Belichick’s 200th in the NFL, and the head coach called it “a real great team win.” Belichick joins Don Shula (328), George Halas (318), Tom Landry (250), Curly Lambeau (218) and Marty Schottenheimer (200) in the 200-win club.
“It means a lot. What it really means is that I have coached a lot of good football players,” Belichick said. “Those are the guys that win the games. Players win games in this league. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to coach a lot of great players, and so that’s really about them winning the games.
“It’s certainly an honor to have my name thrown in there with some of those guys. I’d say really all of them, other than Curly, I have looked up to as a kid and admired and maybe borderline worshipped.
“I certainly never got into coaching thinking or expecting that to ever happen, so it is very gratifying to reach that milestone, but what it really says is that I have had a lot of good players. That is really what it says.”
Belichick is coaching one of his most talented teams ever — on paper — this season, and the Patriots put it all together in a dominating victory over the Vikings. Belichick was pleased with the Patriots’ performance in all three phases, complementing Stephen Gostkowski’s kicking, Chandler Jones’ blocked kick for a touchdown, the balanced offensive attack and the defense’s turnovers.
