Sometimes it’s worth remembering Bill Belichick wasn’t always the surefire Hall of Fame coach he’s become. He’s paid his dues with a bunch of horrible teams — mostly in Cleveland, where his Browns teams finished under .500 in four of five seasons there.
Belichick’s even had bad teams since turning the Patriots into a dynasty. But Sunday’s Week 17 matchup against the Bills sunk his New England tenure to a new low.
The Patriots closed as 14.5-underdogs to their AFC East rival, marking the biggest betting underdog of the Belichick era.
It’s both surprising and amazing.
Underdogs of two-plus touchdowns aren’t rare in the NFL these days, but you hardly see a Belichick-coached team held to such low expectations.
The New England Patriots are consensus 14.5-point underdogs against the Buffalo Bills in Week 17.
That's the biggest underdog Bill Belichick has EVER been as New England's coach
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) December 31, 2023
Buffalo entered Week 17 with a 6-8-1 record against the spread, so it’s not like that Patriots line isn’t enticing, but really it would have to be for anyone to trust a New England squad that ranks last in points per game (14.1).
What a wild fall from a coach who was previously undoubtable week in and week out.
