The New England Patriots offensive line has failed them for much of the season, which is actually a bit of a surprise to Bill Belichick despite some of the warning signs.

The Patriots head coach was asked during a press conference on Wednesday if he envisioned the problems the team would have at offensive tackle and how tough it's been on them.

“Yeah, that's not the way we thought it would happen when we acquired some of the guys at the beginning of the year,” Belichick said. “But it is what it is.”

The Patriots' many problems at offensive tackle this season

Patriots' Bill Belichick looking at Trent Brown

Wednesday's question about the Patriots' offensive tackles came on the heels of Trent Brown's healthy scratch in Week 17. Brown, who has been New England's starting left tackle for much of the season, has dealt with injury problems all season, but Sunday's scratch ensured that he wouldn't receive any of his $6 million in playing time incentives.

Even though Brown has graded out as the Patriots' best offensive lineman according to Pro Football Focus, he's vocally stated his displeasure with how the team handled Malik Cunningham and reportedly had an underwhelming work ethic late in the season. But the problems go beyond Brown.

Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff, who were the Patriots' two biggest additions at offensive tackle this offseason, have hardly seen the field. Anderson only played two games after missing much of training camp due to an illness. He was later put on injured reserve due to illness as well.

Reiff struggled in training camp, moving from right tackle to playing both guard spots before suffering an injury in New England's regular-season finale. He returned for one game before a knee injury knocked him out for the season.

The Patriots also swung a pair of trades to add offensive tackles prior to cutdown day in August, acquiring Vedarian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. Lowe has received ample playing time at both left and right tackle spots, but he only has a 37 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. Wheatley, meanwhile, has yet to play in a game this season.

All of those problems have caused the Patriots to have one of the worst offensive lines in football. New England ranks last in ESPN's pass-block win rate and 27th in Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking efficiency rankings.

Mercifully, the season ends on Sunday against the New York Jets.