It's been a long road that's led to what could be Bill Belichick's final game as Patriots coach
INSIDEPatriots fall to Jets in season finale, 17-3. XB
There was no Hollywood finish Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
If this was indeed Bill Belichick’s final game as head coach of the New England Patriots, it was rather anticlimactic.
Suffering a 17-3 defeat to the New York Jets wasn’t entirely unexpected. The falling snow was the only scenic thing about this, a 4-13 campaign playing out over a final, disappointing 60 minutes.
We didn’t arrive here over just a few months. This has been a franchise decline years in the making from the juggernaut that captured six Super Bowls and bullied the NFL for two decades. Belichick has presided over both chapters — there is far more credit to be awarded over the totality of his time, but the recent blame could be too much to overcome.
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Robert Kraft will reportedly meet with Belichick early this week, and it doesn’t carry the air of formality that existed so many times since their team owner-head coach relationship began in 2000. This could be the end of a historic partnership, one that lifted a former laughingstock from the depths of the league to the pinnacle.
This version of the Patriots too closely resembles the bad old days. No players selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 24 years, waste in free agency, mistakes in the draft, a coaching staff that has fallen behind its league counterparts — there are multiple areas to address before New England becomes a factor again. This chapter following Tom Brady’s departure has created real questions as to whether or not Belichick is the best person to carry forward.
He’s still a capable coach. Eight losses by a touchdown or less — regardless of who’s played quarterback or been in uniform — suggest a competitiveness among the roster and adequate game plans. But it’s Belichick’s performance as the top Patriots personnel executive that has undermined the product on the field. There’s significant doubt he — while turning 72 in April and having operated with few checks and balances for so long — would cede some of his control to a new partner of equal or greater organizational power.
Mac Jones was inactive as the third quarterback on Sunday. What New England has done to him exiting his third year is nothing short of unconscionable. They’ve taken what’s supposed to be a premier asset in the league and devalued him potentially past the point of saving.
Jones was a playoff starter as a rookie in 2021. The subsequent departure of Josh McDaniels and hirings of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge proved to be crippling blows to his confidence and this offense as a whole. Bill O’Brien was left to salvage something in 2023, but the damage had already been done.
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Bailey Zappe throwing two interceptions on the same drive in the fourth quarter against the Jets felt like a fitting conclusion. He’s not the answer moving forward — the Patriots probably don’t have him on the roster at the moment. But it’s not going to be a simple fix on that side of the ball.
Even if they draft a quarterback with a top-5 pick — Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. are the names you’ll hear over the next few months — that doesn’t address every deficiency. New England is poor along the offensive line, lacking in terms of dynamic pass-catchers and without a third-down back like it always seemed to use as a safety blanket during the championship years. Kevin Faulk, Shane Vereen and James White all hold places in team lore — there is no such equivalent on the current roster.
That’s largely due to personnel decisions approved by Belichick. One of his most glaring errors was the selection of N’Keal Harry with the final pick of the first round in 2019. He was an immediate bust at receiver while so many others in his class — Deebo Samuel, AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, Diontae Johnson, Terry McLaurin — have excelled.
The first Sunday in December served as a harsh reminder. The Patriots suffered a 6-0 shutout home loss to the Chargers, an embarrassment for multiple reasons. It was the first time since the franchise was founded in 1960 that New England had suffered multiple blankings in a season. It was also a day during which tickets were being sold for less than $10 on the secondary market within an hour of kickoff.
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Samuel and the 49ers squared off with Brown and the Eagles later in the afternoon, and the NFC Championship Game rematch looked like a different sport. They combined for three touchdowns and 252 yards rushing and receiving. The Patriots received nothing from Harry or any other member of that draft class against Los Angeles — none of them remains on the current roster.
Kraft, of course, should take a fair portion of the blame. His football operation has steadily deteriorated while Patriot Place has shifted into a priority position. A lighthouse view from Providence to Boston and the world’s largest video board don’t win games on the field.
Belichick’s coaching staff and personnel decisions have helped Kraft maintain some of the lowest cash spending in the league since the late 2010s. Patricia, Judge, McDaniels, Bret Bielema — all were still flush from buyout payments after failures at previous stops. According to Spotrac, Matthew Judon was New England’s highest earner in real cash while bringing home $15 million this season — that's tied for 98th in the NFL.
Meddling owners aren’t always best — look no further than the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones for proof of that. But there is a balance between the freedom to operate as needed and some productive oversight. Belichick’s personal power within the organization, seemingly unchecked for more than two decades, has progressively become a detriment.
Getting divorced doesn’t mean you can’t eventually find love again elsewhere. Belichick would likely field calls from multiple franchises sounding him out about their job openings. The Patriots would have a head start on rebuilding with significant draft capital and upward of $70 million in cap space ahead of 2024.
It just doesn’t feel like they’ll arrive at that happy ending together.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots lose to Jets in Bill Belichick's likely final game as coach
