Patriots Laughingstock Continues With TNF Bill Belichick Graphic

The New England Patriots were taken out of a primetime slot Thursday, but they will still find themselves on that stage twice in December.

The first occasion comes next Thursday when the Patriots travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. The matchup was promoted during the telecast of Amazon Prime’s “Thursday Night Football” game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks, but it came with a twist.

While a graphic of Steelers star T.J. Watt was flashed up on the screen, the highly talented edge rusher was not opposed by a Patriots player, but by head coach Bill Belichick. It ended up creating a weird juxtaposition, which was shared by ESPN’s Mike Reiss on social media.

The producers at Amazon clearly think the Patriots don’t have a star player worthy of sharing the marquee with Watt. With Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez injured and Mac Jones spiraling into despair, there aren’t many options to choose from. Rhamondre Stevenson or Christian Barmore could have been selected, but didn’t make the cut.

Instead, the 71-year-old Belichick continues to be the biggest draw for the Patriots in a miserable season and just shows the current state of the franchise.

The Patriots on Thursday got flexed out of “Monday Night Football” against the Kansas City Chiefs in an unprecedented move, but remain in the primetime spot on Christmas Eve in a road matchup against the Denver Broncos.

It could be Belichick again on the promotion graphic for that contest as the devoid of talent on the Patriots continues to show up in the spotlight.