Belichick, Patriots are now on the receiving end
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows full well how dominant the Patriots have been over the past two-plus decades.
He understands the history of the NFL and how the Patriots’ dynasty under Bill Belichick, which included nine Super Bowl appearances and 14 AFC Championship games in 18 years, might never be replicated.
So when asked for his reaction to beating the Patriots, 38-3, Sunday, handing Belichick the worst loss of his 28-year head coaching career, only one word came to mind.
“Surreal,” Jones said outside the Cowboys’ locker room. “That’s what it is when you look at how well they have competed all those years. We had all the respect in the world for them. Couldn’t have pictured being able to have the score like this.”
It might have been surreal for Jones, but it was a sad sight for Patriots fans and anyone who appreciates Belichick’s place in history. The once-mighty Patriots, and their once-intimidating coach, have become a punching bag. If a 35-point loss to the Cowboys on national TV isn’t hitting rock bottom, it sure came close.
The Patriots didn’t just lose Sunday to drop to 1-3 — they were non-competitive, with Belichick mercifully yanking Mac Jones before the end of the third quarter.
The Patriots of 2023 are a far cry from the dynasty Patriots. They used to be the truck steamrolling down the highway. Now they’re the roadkill that can’t get out of the way.
The Patriots are now the ones getting punked on a trick special teams play that the Cowboys scouted all week on film. The Patriots are so meaningless Dallas reporters were more interested in asking Cowboys players about next week’s game against the 49ers than rehashing Sunday’s win. My 6-year-old son asked why the Patriots offense wasn’t featured once on Red Zone Channel, not understanding a team has to actually threaten to score a touchdown to be featured. The Patriots rank 31st in scoring after Sunday’s debacle, at just 13.8 points per game.
“Right now, it sucks,” receiver JuJu Smith-Schus
ter said. “It sucks to lose like that, especially in the NFL where usually games are close. That was a tough one.”
The NFL viewing public has seen plenty of the Patriots this season — three games have been national broadcasts, and their fourth, against the Jets, was CBS’s game of the week. All four games have been snoozers, and after Sunday’s shellacking, they’re at strong risk of getting flexed out of their remaining national TV games — Weeks 14-16 against the Steelers, Chiefs, and Broncos.
Jones said he met with Robert and Jonathan Kraft before Sunday’s game, and said he sympathizes with them for getting blown out Sunday.
“These things hurt. I know he hurts,” Jones said of Robert Kraft. “There’s no easy way around it. It feels really bad. But when it quits feeling bad, then you’re probably not on this earth, really.”
Belichick and the Patriots, once the most hated team in all the land, are now getting pity compliments from their former players.
“They still have a bunch of talent, being coached by one of the greatest. They’ll get it figured out,” said Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks, a member of the 2017 Patriots who had four catches for 27 yards.
“[Belichick] has had so many great years, and he’s not done. He’ll figure it out just because of the coach that he is, how smart he is, how great he is. He’ll find a way.”
Former Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore also was effusive in his praise of Belichick.
Gilmore had a tough divorce from the Patriots in 2021 after four years, squabbling over his injury and ultimately getting traded to Carolina. But Gilmore stood up for Belichick.
While the Patriots haven’t shown any signs of being able to turn their season around, they did start 1-3 in 2021 and still made the playoffs at 10-7.
“They’re struggling right now, but a great coach like him, he’ll get those guys ready each week,” Gilmore told the Globe. “Bill is a great coach. He taught me a lot about the game — how to prepare, how to study. I didn’t know it was the worst loss, but it happens. I wouldn’t be the player I am today without him coaching me. I’m always pulling for him. We had some great years there. Happy to be a Cowboy, but I still love Patriot nation.”
The talk of Belichick being on the hot seat surely will intensify this week. Sunday’s loss was so bad that his players are acknowledging Belichick’s job security and are openly defending him.
“Bill has brought New England and football so many great historic moments for 20 years. I don’t what anybody is talking about,” defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. said. “He is a great coach. We’re behind him. We’re going to play for him. He’s going to keep coaching us. I do anything he says.”
The 2023 version of the Patriots wears the Flying Elvis logo and plays at Gillette Stadium, but that’s about as far as the comparisons go with the Patriots from the dynasty years. Still, anybody who followed the NFL from 2001-19 knows how dominant they once were, and how shocking it is to defeat the Belichick-led Patriots by 35 points.
“It’s kind of inspiring because knowing what a great coach, what a great organization they’ve got,” Jerry Jones said. “We will take it, and it will be that meaningful to us.”