It appears things are just getting worse for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. On Sunday, they lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 6-0, which marked the Patriots’ fifth-straight loss. It also marked their fifth game this season scoring 7 or fewer points. The Patriots had just five such games in Tom Brady’s 283 starts with New England (H/T Yahoo Sports).
The Patriots are the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose three straight games all while allowing 10 or fewer points. Belichick previously had two losses with 10 or fewer points allowed in his first 28 seasons as a head coach. This year, New England is 1-3 when allowing 10 or fewer points. The rest of the NFL is 50-0!
New England is currently on its first five-game losing streak since 1995. The last time the Patriots lost five straight games, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl, Don Shula was still coaching in the NFL and Brady was a senior in high school.
The Patriots made a quarterback change in Week 13, benching Mac Jones in favor of Bailey Zappe. It didn’t spark the offense, as the second-year signal-caller out of Western Kentucky completed just 13 of 25 passes for 141 yards. The Patriots have now gone three straight games without a passing touchdown, and it is their worst 12-game start to a season since 1993.
The Patriots now have a 28.6% chance to win the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, per SportsLine. Those are the second-best odds behind the Chicago Bears (67.5%), who own the first-round pick of the 1-11 Carolina Panthers. It’s fair to wonder if we are watching the end of the Belichick era. Could the legendary lead man be fired this offseason? Or maybe traded to another franchise?
