Raiders Game Feels Like Last Chance For Bill Belichick, Mac Jones

FOXBORO, Mass. — If we had to bet, we’d go with Bill Belichick and Mac Jones lasting the entire season in their current jobs with the Patriots.

Part of that is because New England might not have any better options internally or externally. Moreover, you could squint and find a path toward a turnaround, as the Patriots’ once-daunting schedule now looks a bit softer.

But a win in Las Vegas this Sunday feels non-negotiable. If the Patriots lose to the Raiders and drop to 1-5, all bets would be off for anyone without “Kraft” on their birth certificate.

The Patriots are at a true organizational crossroads. Their listless 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday marked just the second home shutout loss since 1993; Jacoby Brissett was at quarterback for the other. They were outscored 72-3 in their last two games while giving up 69 unanswered points. The consecutive disastrous defeats were the two most lopsided losses in Belichick’s coaching career. The franchise is 1-4 for the first time since 2000. Jones looks like a third-year QB whose development has torpedoed after working with three different coordinators, a bad offensive line and mostly useless weapons since entering the NFL. If Jonnu Smith was on the roster, he would be literally leading the Patriots in catches and receiving yards. There was stuff during Sunday’s loss that felt like white flag-waving. Even the players questioned their own effort level.

And yet, there still is a glimmer of hope, even if it’s fading faster than an old iPhone battery (or a new one, for that matter).

Of the 12 games left on New England’s schedule, just six are against teams currently with winning records. And some of those opponents, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts, are fool’s gold. The rest of the games are against teams with .500 records or worse.

That includes the Raiders, who’ll carry a 1-3 record into Monday night’s home game against the Green Bay Packers. It would be a strange turn of fate if Belichick and Josh McDaniels both are 1-4 and coaching for their jobs next Sunday.

Vegas has a talented offense, led by Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams. But the Raiders defense is atrocious and could be just what the doctor ordered for the Patriots offense.

New England’s offense looked really bad in the first five weeks. It scored fewer points in each game, going from 20 to 17 to 13 to 3 to 0. But the results also were skewed by going up against five of the NFL’s premier defenses.

There won’t be any such excuses this Sunday. If Jones and Belichick’s hand-picked offensive personnel again struggle, heads should roll down Las Vegas Boulevard. Maybe Belichick and Jones skirt blame if the offense loses a shootout and it’s clear the defense sorely misses Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon, but even that’s a stretch. The Raiders scored fewer than 20 points in their first four games, after all.

The bad news is we still might not see any fireworks from the Patriots offense. Belichick seemingly tipped his hand during Sunday’s postgame news conference.

“That’s what we are going to do, start all over and get back on a better track than we’re on right now,” Belichick said.

So, where do they start?

“It’s what I just said. Start over again.”

OK, but what does that entail?

“Starting over.”

That didn’t sound like a generic, get-back-to-work line from Belichick, who also said he’s “done it before.” It sounded like a coach who was ready to strip the house down to the studs and foundation. He also said, “We’ll deal with that this week,” when asked whether he’ll be communicating a new message to players. Answers to questions about possible personnel changes were similarly vague and ominous, even though Belichick appeared to back Jones for at least another week.

None of this reads like a team that’s ready to open up previously locked sections of the playbook and score 40 points. It feels more like a back-to-basics approach that puts a heavy emphasis on establishing the run and avoiding the kinds of passing plays that have led to turnovers. The stage could be set for a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair against a team whom the Patriots should blow out.

Obviously, that would be asking for more trouble. But we’ll see what happens.

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Many fans want nothing more than for the Patriots to move on from Jones and try someone else at quarterback. But considering Bailey Zappe is worse — sorry, it’s true — and the Patriots couldn’t even find someone good enough to replace Zappe as the backup, Jones probably still has a lot of rope left. Plus, the most responsible course of action would be to see things through with the 2021 first-rounder and see if he can recapture his rookie-year form. The Patriots can address the quarterback situation during the offseason if Jones doesn’t turn things around.

As for Belichick, he’s earned the right to finish what he started. He might be the only coach who truly is above a mid-season firing. At worst, he should get the mutually-parted-ways treatment on Black Monday. Furthermore, you don’t fire a coach unless he’s actively hurting the team’s chances of winning. Belichick the GM might be doing that, but Belichick the head coach isn’t — not yet, anyway.

However, it’s hard to watch the Patriots and not feel like something is rotten. This roster is better than the one that went 10-7 and made the playoffs in 2021, but the results now are significantly worse. Players aren’t showing much competitiveness, especially when facing adversity.

To that end, maybe Belichick’s message is falling on deaf ears. Maybe he’s close to losing the locker room — even though team captains insist that’s not the case. Maybe players feel no hope with a regressed and confidence-shot Jones under center.

Sunday might be the last chance for Belichick and Jones to prove those narratives are false. They can’t both survive a 1-5 start.