Welcome to the depths of despair. And while I predicted back in May that the Patriots would finish in the AFC East cellar, thus ending Bill Belichick’s tenure in New England, this is even worse than I anticipated.
I actually thought Belichick, as the greatest coach in the history of North American sports, could drag this overmatched team to seven or eight wins. But here the Pats lie at 1-4, having just been blown off their own field by a mediocre Saints team. Choose your nugget of futility.
Sunday’s 34-0 loss to New Orleans was the second-biggest margin of defeat in Belichick’s head-coaching career. The first? The previous week’s 38-3 loss to Dallas.The Patriots just suffered back-to-back 30-point losses for the first time since 1970, the franchise’s first season in the NFL.In his first 453 regular-season games as an NFL head coach, Belichick lost by 30-plus points once. In the last two weeks, he’s done so twice.In Belichick’s first two opportunities to earn his 300th regular-season win, New England has been outscored 72-3.New England has scored a league-low 55 points this season, while opponents have scored 55 points off of Patriots turnovers.
Yikes. And I could go on, but you get the point.
Back in March, Pats owner Robert Kraft said it was “very important” for the team to return to the playoffs. A month into the season, New England’s much closer to earning the No. 1 overall pick. The offense is simply offensive: Mac Jones has been dreadful, the line’s a sieve and the weaponry’s nonexistent. Meanwhile, the defense has been devoured by the injury bug, with the unit’s best pass rusher (Matt Judon) and best cover man (rookie stud Christian Gonzalez) among the many victims.
After Sunday’s humiliating home defeat, Belichick said New England needs to “start all over,” as if that’s an option. Truth is, New England just needs this lost season to be over.
2023-10-10 21:18:00
#Patriots #hitting #rock #bottom #injuryriddled #Bills #mistakeprone #Ravens
