One of sports’ hottest debates must center around these numbers.
The stark contrast between Bill Belichick’s record as an NFL head coach with Tom Brady as his team’s starting quarterback and without him became more apparent than ever Sunday after the Patriots’ devastating loss to the Buffalo Bills in their NFL Week 8 matchup. New England’s latest setback marked Belichick’s 66th loss in 117 games he’s coached without Brady as his starter. Compare that to the 66 losses Belichick’s Patriots suffered in the 290 games Brady started in New England, according to CBS Sports.
For those who won’t bother to calculate the key percentages, here they are: Belichick won 77 percent of his games with Brady as his team’s starting QB, compared to just 43.5 percent without him. These numbers include his record as head coach of the Patriots and Cleveland Browns.
The Patriots fell to 2-5 in 2020 after the loss to the Bills, who now are 6-2 and lead New England in the race for AFC East supremacy by 3.5 games. Patriots quarterback Cam Newton almost positioned New England to win a fourth-quarter comeback attempt for the first time in his tenure with the team, but he fumbled with 37 seconds remaining, and the Patriots lost the ball and the game.
Brady, who now plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after spending the first 20 years of his NFL career in Foxboro, was a comeback king in New England, and Belichick’s record was far better off because of it.
