The Kansas City Chiefs became the latest team to hand the New England Patriots a home loss in a season filled with them for coach Bill Belichick and this once-proud NFL franchise.
With a pop icon who’s no stranger to performing before sold out crowds at Gillette Stadium looking on from a luxury suite, the Chiefs provided Taylor Swift and the throng of fans who attended Sunday’s game with plenty of reasons to cheer.
The same could not be said for the Patriots, who struggled in the second half of a 27-17 loss that dropped them to 3-11 on the season.
Instead of building off their Week 14 win surprise over the Steelers, the Patriots resembled the bottom-tier NFL team they have been for much of this season.
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New England is assured of missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons with the biggest question heading into the offseason revolving around the head coach who presided over the team’s six Super Bowl wins.
Does the speculation of Belichick’s job status hinge upon whether the Patriots can close out the season with better results create any additional motivation inside the locker room?
“No,” said defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., one of the few holdovers from the most recent time the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2018.
Belichick typically opens his postgame news conference with a synopsis of the game. After the 27-17 loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, the coach went straight to questions — yet another sign of a trying season that’s down to three games left.
From being asked why cornerback J.C. Jackson was listed as active but ultimately did not play, to a question about the decision deciding to punt the ball away from near midfield when behind by 17 points early in the fourth quarter, Belichick referenced his usual mantra of doing what he believed was best for the team.
“There’s a lot of things that go into a decision,” Belichick said.
The Patriots fell to 1-7 at home, yet another sign that the end of the Belichick era might be close.
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce spoke with reverence about a coach who got the better of his own team on a few occasions with the Chiefs also returning the favor to New England.
“I’ve got all the respect in the world for that guy. Every single time I go up against him, it’s the toughest job in the NFL, to go up against a Belichick defense,” said Kelce, who finished with 28 yards on five catches.
Asked about Sunday representing potentially the last time Kelce goes up against a Belichick-led Patriots team, the two-time Super Bowl winner replied, “It’s wild to even think about, but I’ve got a feeling that the guy still has some football left in him.”
