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With a 23-35 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, the New England Patriots were eliminated from playoff contention. The Miami Dolphins sealed the seventh seed in the AFC at the expense of the Pats and will face the Bills in the Wild Card round.
Bill-Belichick's team finished the season at under .500 with a record of 8-9. They have lost five of their last seven games of the regular season. This resulted in them missing the playoffs for the second time in the three seasons since the departure of Tom Brady.
Bill Belichick, who was backed by many, wasn't able to show his magic and take this team to the playoffs like they did last campaign. The departure of former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders hurt them more than they expected.
There were visible signs of a lack of chemistry in the offense during practice and OTAs but many ignored it. One of them was First Things First co-host Kevin Wildes. He backed the Patriots to win at least ten games this season but was proved wrong. Here's what he said about the Pats when Nick Wright was criticizing them:
"It's August. It's practice. Talk to me in Jan. 10 wins. Guaranteed."
Nick Wright, as usual, was able to have the last laugh as Wildes' team had a very disappointing season. Despite the fact that the Miami Dolphins were without Tua Tagovailao for a large part of the season, they secured the seventh seed.
Since Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick has struggled. Changes are incoming for the six-time Super Bowl champions, and it will be interesting to see who gets fired in the aftermath of this poor season.
What went wrong for the Patriots this season?
The biggest concern for the New England Patriots this season has been their offense. The loss of Josh McDaniels to the Raiders proved to be more crucial than predicted. Joe Judge and Matt Patricia weren't able to develop or help Mac Jones, and as a result, we saw a slump from him in his sophomore year in the league.
The Pats have averaged just 21.4 points per game this season and were the 17th-ranked offense. Both their passing and running games were below average due to a lack of good schemes. Mac Jones was often seen frustrated and a change in the offensive coordinator role could be coming for the franchise.
Jones had a passer rating of 84.8 for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 14 games this season. In comparison, last campaign, he had a passer rating of 92.5 for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 17 games.
Bailey Zappe was brought in during Jones' absence, who did provide some spark but is not the long-term solution for the team. Mac Jones is their quarterback and the franchise needs to support him with good players and good coaches or else, this Patriots team is going nowhere.
The upcoming offseason will be crucial for Belichick's team as they need to make smart decisions to help their quarterback.
