Belichick records 300th victory
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick was 39 years old when he coached the Browns to a win over the Patriots in 1991 — his first as an NFL coach.
As Belichick trotted toward the center of the field Sunday, his trademark cutoff hooded sweatshirt soaked in rain after the Patriots’ 27-13 victory over the Browns, he did so as a member of a small but elite group of coaches.
Tom Brady threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns to help Belichick earn his 300th career victory in the Patriots’ win. Belichick sits behind only Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324) on the NFL’s all-time list.
“Fortunately, I didn’t play in any of those games,” Belichick said. “I was a part of those, but players win games in this league and I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of great ones.”
The Patriots improved to 8-0 for the third time in team history and the first time since 2015, when they started 10-0. The Browns have lost three straight games.
Brady completed 20 of 36 passes, hitting Julian Edelman on eight of them for 78 yards and both touchdowns.
The Patriots capitalized on three firstquarter turnovers to take a 17-0 lead. Browns running back Nick Chubb had back-to-back fumbles, and quarterback Baker Mayfield had an interception. The Patriots have forced a league-high 25 turnovers.
The Browns did trim the lead to 17-10 early in the third quarter. But the Patriots struck right back on their next possession, using a 59-yard completion from Brady to James White to help set up a 14-yard touchdown pass to Edelman.
Chubb ran for 131 yards, and Mayfield finished 20-for-31 for 194 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots have won 21 consecutive games against first- or second-year quarterbacks, the longest such streak in NFL history.
The Browns’ first-quarter turnovers came on three consecutive plays.
After the Patriots took a 3-0 lead, Chubb took a handoff from Mayfield but had the ball inadvertently kicked out of his hands by left guard Joel Bitonio. It was scooped up by Dont’a Hightower and returned 26 yards for a touchdown.
On the first play of the ensuing series after the Patriots’ kickoff landed out of bounds, Chubb got the ball again, this time getting around the edge and scampering 44 yards down the sideline.
He appeared headed for a touchdown, but Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones gave pursuit and hammered the ball from Chubb’s hands on the Patriots 4. It was recovered by McCourty.
After a Patriots punt, the Browns’ next series ended when Lawrence Guy broke into the backfield and stepped in front of Mayfield’s shovel-pass attempt to Jarvis Landry on the Browns’ 16 for his first career interception.
The Patriots needed two plays after the changeover for Brady to connect with Edelman for an eight-yard touchdown.
“They’re going to take advantage of stuff like that. That’s just the kind of team they are,” Mayfield said. “This isn’t Nick Chubb’s fault. He’s going to be very hard on himself.”
The Browns finally found some traction in the second quarter on their sixth possession, capping a six-play, 54-yard drive with a 21-yard pass from Mayfield to Demetrius Harris.
Mayfield’s touchdown strike to Harris in the second quarter ended a 71-0 scoring streak by the Patriots. They scored the final 21 points in their win over the Giants on Oct. 10 and then shut out the Jets 33-0 last week.
Brady said the Patriots are already looking to add to Belichick’s win total.
“The only thing better than 300 is 301,” he said.