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If one wanted to defend Bill Belichick (for his coaching, not his roster-building), one could argue that the short-handed New England Patriots were in a position to at least send their Week 8 matchup with the Buffalo Bills into overtime before Cam Newton fumbled the game away on the 14-yard line with 31 seconds to play.
The Bills won, 24-21, dropping the Patriots to 2-5 on the season and 3.5 games back (plus tiebreaker) in the AFC East — a position Belichick is not used to being in.
New England's shaky quarterback play this season — from Newton, Brian Hoyer, and Jarrett Stidham — and jarring lack of talent at wide receiver has seemingly shaken the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach's trust in his players, and it's been reflected in his unusual play-calling.
On Sunday, for instance, New England faced a 3rd and 1 on the 16-yard line with time for a shot to the end zone. Instead of going for the six points, Bill Belichick elected to kick the field goal and head into the locker room down 7-6. Belichick, when asked about it, had a terse reply, per Isaiah Houde of USA Today.
Belichick's explanation? “To ensure the three points.”
Against a solid offensive team like the Bills, the difference between a touchdown and a field goal is well-worth taking a shot. The passivity would indicate that Bill Belichick was worried about Newton's decision-making.
Later on, after a Patriots' two-point conversion tied the game at 14, Belichick pulled out a surprise onside kick that predictably failed, rather than trusting his defense to get a stop. The Bills took advantage of the shorter field position and scored the go-ahead TD.
“We were trying to make a positive play,” Belichick told reporters.
Right — unlike…every other play call by every coach in NFL/sports history?
Bill Belichick was clearly scrambling to eke out a win and keep the team's playoff hopes alive, but ultimately showed a disturbing lack of faith in his team.
By the way, we're still waiting for an explanation of why Malcolm Butler was mysteriously benched before Super Bowl LII.
