It’s not hyperbole to say that Saturday’s loss in Buffalo was one of the worst defeats of Bill Belichick’s career.
In their 47-17 wild-card dismantling of the New England Patriots, the Bills punted zero times, scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions and racked up 482 yards of total offense. They also forced two turnovers, committed fewer penalties than the Patriots and almost returned a punt for a score. It was a thorough, complete beatdown of a team that only a month ago carried Super Bowl buzz.
Consider this: The Patriots lost four of their final five games for the first time in Belichick’s 21 seasons in New England. Additionally, the Bills finished their three-round fight with the Patriots by not punting on their final 20 possessions.
Entering Week 16, no team ever had gone a full game without punting against a Belichick-coached team. It happened twice in the final month.
So, it wasn’t a surprise when Belichick said essentially nothing during his postgame news conference at Highmark Stadium.
“Congratulate Buffalo on the win tonight,” Belichick said during his opening statement. “Obviously, they did a great job and we just couldn’t keep up with them tonight. Certainly deserve the win. Well-coached, executed well, and we just couldn’t do much of anything.
“So, pick up the pieces, go back to work here and find a way to be more competitive.”
From there, Belichick spent most of his time saying the same thing in different ways.
Was the effort by the Patriots’ defense good enough?
“I said we couldn’t keep up with them tonight, and we couldn’t.”
Did New England try anything new against Josh Allen, who threw for 308 yards and five touchdowns?
“They were too much for us tonight.”
Did the Bills put on one of the best offensive performances Belichick has seen?
“They played well tonight.”
One “highlight” occurred when Belichick was asked whether he considered taking the ball first instead of differing after winning the coin toss.
“We get two choices. We chose to defer.”
Well, he’s not wrong.
Here’s Belichick’s full postgame presser:
Saturday’s loss won’t sit well with the Patriots — nor should it. It was an all-around embarrassing night for one of the proudest franchises in North American professional sports.
However, once the dust settles, the 2021 Patriots should be viewed in a positive lens, as the development of Mac Jones and their return to the postseason were important steps forward in the post-Tom Brady era.
