Josh Allen’s 2nd rushing TD extends Bills’ lead (0:19)
How Josh Allen Uses His Size for His Advantage
Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterDec 31, 2023, 07:16 PM ET
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Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
The New England Patriots’ turnover-filled 27-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday clinched a last-place finish in the AFC East — the first for the franchise since 2000, which was Bill Belichick’s first year as head coach.
Entering this season, the only team that had a longer active streak without a last-place division finish was the Pittsburgh Steelers (1988).
The Patriots (4-12) host the New York Jets (6-10) in the season finale next weekend, and after that, some major questions hovering over the organization should soon be answered.
Speculation has swirled on whether Belichick will return in 2024, in part because owner Robert Kraft, who attended Sunday’s game at Highmark Stadium, said in March how important it was to him to qualify for the playoffs.
Instead, the Patriots have endured their worst season under Belichick, with Sunday’s result a reflection of season-long offensive issues. The team had four first-half turnovers and now has a minus-10 turnover differential on the season, as the Patriots are primed to finish the year with a negative turnover differential for the first time since 2005.
The team’s 17 straight seasons with a positive turnover differential is the longest streak in the NFL since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
“Just a terrible first 20 minutes,” Belichick said. “Turnovers are obviously a big story in the game. Can’t make those kind of mistakes against Buffalo.”
The four turnovers were the most the Patriots have had in a first half in Belichick’s tenure.
“There’s an old saying around here ‘you can’t win until you keep from losing’ and that first half — you can’t do that,” captain and starting center David Andrews said. “We put our defense in an impossible position.”
The Patriots’ 27 giveaways this season have primarily been a result of wildly inconsistent play from their young quarterbacks — first with Mac Jones (third NFL season), then his replacement Bailey Zappe (second NFL season) once he became Jones’ replacement in early December. The team entered Sunday ranked last in the NFL in points scored per game with an average of 14.1.
On Sunday, the Patriots took a 7-0 lead on Jalen Reagor’s 98-yard kickoff return on the game’s first play before things went off track quickly.
