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New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t have much to say after a 23-12 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 15. The Patriots’ loss eliminated them from playoff contention for the first time since 2008. And Belichick said he was “disappointed” to be out of the playoff hunt.
He added: “We didn’t deserve to win today.”
Will his message change to players in the locker room?
“No, not too much,” he said after the game.
What will he tell players to motivate them to keep fighting?
“That’s what we do.”
New England has made the playoffs in every season since 2008 when Tom Brady tore his ACL in Week 1. The team managed a 10-6 record, but couldn’t get past the Miami Dolphins, who won the division. Prior to that run, they had made the playoffs in every season since 2002. Belichick has only missed the playoffs four times in his 21 seasons as the Patriots’ coach.
“Obviously it’s frustrating,” quarterback Cam Newton said, “but like I said, I don’t want to just dwell on what’s the obvious. And this whole season has been the tale of just coming up a tad bit short. Call it however you want to, we’ve still got guys that are new to this system, we’ve still got guys that’s young, we’ve still got guys that just don’t get it, and we’ve still got guys that’s battling their tails off every week. So we’ve just got to keep building upon the optimism of what we can become.”
This season, the Buffalo Bills have already clinched an AFC East title, their first since 1995. The Patriots, meanwhile, fall to 6-8 on the season with a matchup against the Bills in Week 16 and a game against the New York Jets in Week 17. It’s a strange scenario for Patriots like safety Devin McCourty, who haven’t played in meaningless games during their tenure — with the exception of games when New England had already clinched to top playoff seed.
“Oh, it sucks. But it is what it is,” McCourty said postgame. “It’s the reality of the situation.”
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