How Bill Belichick Reacted To Jabrill Peppers’ Explosive Comment

Bill Belichick isn’t holding Jabrill Peppers’ hot-mic comments against him.

Asked Monday about Peppers telling Saquon Barkley, “You lucky we ass,” after the Patriots’ Week 12 loss to the New York Giants, Belichick responded by praising the veteran safety.

“You’d have to talk to Jabrill about that,” New England’s head coach said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “I think he made some comments on it. There’s things that get said in frustrating moments. We’ve all had that.

“Jabrill works hard. He’s a hard-working kid. He’s out there every day and works hard to communicate well, be a good teammate, compete and help his team. I think everybody respects that. I certainly do.”

Peppers apologized for the remark last week but stood by his take, which was proven accurate again Sunday. The Patriots were shut out by the Los Angeles Chargers 6-0 at Gillette Stadium, becoming the first NFL team in 85 years to allow 10 or fewer points in three consecutive games and lose all three.

The latest defeat dropped New England to 2-10 on the season, putting Belichick’s club on track to land the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Peppers helped lead another strong defensive effort, playing every snap as the Patriots held a Chargers offense featuring Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen to two field goals and 13 first downs.

“We’ve got to play better complementary football,” Peppers said after the game. “We just can’t play well on one side of the ball, whatever phase that is.”

The Patriots will have a short turnaround this week before visiting the 7-5 Pittsburgh Steelers on “Thursday Night Football.”