The Patriots suffered a 27-17 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. New England was competitive in the first half, but things unraveled in the final two quarters.
Between J.C. Jackson’s mysterious absence despite being active, Cole Strange’s leg injury and Bill Belichick’s head-scratching decisions, it was another reminder that things are much different with the Patriots than they were just a few years ago.
On the latest episode of “Eye On Foxborough,” MassLive Patriots reporters Chris Mason and Mark Daniels broke down the 27-17 loss, and questioned whether Belichick was trying to win Sunday, or if he was just trying to not suffer another blowout loss.
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“The most alarming thing to me from this game is that, for the first time that I can ever remember, I don’t think Bill Belichick was playing to win in the second half,” Mason said. “I think he was playing not to get blown out and that’s just such a jarring thing. When the Patriots had the ball near midfield, 4th-and-3, early in the fourth quarter, they’re down 17 points, and Belichick punts. With like nine minutes or so left, they have another fourth and this one is a little further back in their own territory. But … down 17 points, and he punted again. They get the ball back, down two scores with four minutes left, they’re at their own goal line, essentially. … They bled 76 seconds off the clock.”
Daniels said he believes it comes down to Belichick not having “the talent to beat a team like the Chiefs.”
“I thought this game served as just sort of another reminder — with all the reporting that’s been going on around Bill Belichick — this game served as another reminder that the easiest thing for the Patriots to do at the end of this year is probably just reset,” he said. “I’m talking about new coach, new GM, new quarterback Watching the Chiefs I just said to myself, ‘Man, the Patriots are so far away from really contending. I don’t see how bringing back a soon-to-be 72-year-old head coach who’s struggling as a GM makes any sense.”
Belichick’s future is just one of many questions that must be answered this offseason. But for now, anyway, he remains the head coach and will begin to prepare the Patriots for their Christmas Eve matchup against the Denver Broncos in Week 16.
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