Bill Belichick is struggling without Tom Brady.
The Cam Newton experiment was a bad idea in New England.
Associated Press
Belichick suffers worst loss of career in 38-3 loss to Cowboys
The Patriots have lost in two of the past three years.
Belichick hit a new all-time low in a 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Add in the fact that Mac Jones was benched in the third quarter, and it’s impossible to ignore that Belichick hasn’t been the same head coach since the Patriots decided to move on from Brady.
It’s another low point for Belichick since 2019 — New England’s decision to callously part ways with Brady, a year after Brady won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Excited, humble and hungry,” Brady wrote when he left the Patriots and became a Buccaneer. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about football, it’s that no one cares what you did last year or the year before. You earn the trust and respect of those around you through your daily commitment.”
Those strong words now apply to Belichick, who currently looks like the NFL has moved on—the 35-point loss to Dallas was the worst loss of his coaching career.
New England was eliminated midway through Super Bowl LII in Houston, and Belichick made a superb return to form, turning a 28-3 win over Atlanta into a historic 34-8 victory that solidified New England’s success. Team dynasty.
But Belichick had Brady at the time, five seasons after the Patriots last dominated the league.
Getty
He has contributed so much to the Patriots during his illustrious career
AFP
Those Super Bowl wins with Brady seem like a long time ago
Jones had a poor performance on Sunday and sounded frustrated after the loss.
“Definitely disappointed in myself. I felt like I could have played better,” he said.
“I put in a lot, but I feel bad. I let my team down, my coaches, the whole organization, everybody — the fans. “I’ve got to put out a better product to beat good teams. “
12-for-21 passing, 150 yards passing, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a low 39.9 rating do you in for that.
So you’re going to be on the bench in the third quarter of Week 4.
Jones’ legitimacy as the franchise’s quarterback has been seriously questioned throughout the 2022 season, when he went 6-8 as a starter and Bailey Zappe took center stage.
Bill O’Brien’s return as offensive coordinator produced just three runs on Sunday, and New England was hammered by Dallas in an inexplicable loss to Arizona a week ago.
“Our team is a lot better than we were tonight,” Belichick said. “Need to do better in terms of playing and coaching. “There’s not much to say. “
USEPA
After Brady, frustrated Belichick common on sidelines
After his previous struggles, Jones has come on the bench and said a lot.
He looked like an undrafted pick as a first-round pick (No. 15 in 2021), but now leads the Patriots with a 17-18 record in the post-Brady era.
Jones has yet to return to his commitment from his rookie season, and New England’s roster lacks offensive explosiveness.
The same goes for Belichick, 71, who is still running the show in New England and oddly handling the Patriots’ quarterback rotation in training camp.
Reading too much into a four-game performance in a 17-game season would be foolish every year.
Things change every week in the NFL. Just ask Dallas, Arizona, Miami, Cincinnati and more.
But Brady went 32-18 in Tampa, making the playoffs in three seasons and winning a postseason the year he left New England.
Belichick failed to replace Brady, and the Patriots are 19-19 since losing the greatest quarterback of all time.
Belichick said he benched Jones because the game was lost and there was no point in him playing against the Cowboys anymore.
That’s all there is to say about New England (1-3) and its head coach four games into another NFL season without Brady.