What’s more surprising than Bill Belichick’s team making sloppy mistakes? How about the longtime Patriots coach apologizing for his surly attitude in the postgame media availability.
The “on to Cincinnati” meme-maker told reporters on Monday that he was sorry for being curt after the 27-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that dropped New England from the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Belichick’s answers on Saturday night ranged from surly to argumentative, but the new week brought a new attitude.
“Look, fellas. I apologize. I seemed like I was a little short with you after the game,” Belichick said. “Not really trying to be short, but honestly, there wasn’t too much to say. I don’t know there’s a whole lot more to say now, but it’s not your fault. It was a frustrating game.”
The Patriots had won seven in a row to propel themselves to the top of the conference, but things fell apart quickly in Indianapolis.
New England was pushed around on the Colts’ second possession, with Jonathan Taylor running six straight times for 33 yards to help set up a touchdown. Then Indianapolis blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone to make it 14-0.
A field goal made it 17-0 before Mac Jones was picked off after driving New England to the Indianapolis 15 at the end of the first half. Jones threw his second interception to start the second half, setting up the Colts’ 46-yard field-goal attempt; it missed, but an offside penalty gave them another chance, which was successful to give Indianapolis a 20-0 lead.
In all, the Patriots committed eight penalties, including three false starts, and another that got Kyle Dugger kicked out of the game.
So it’s no wonder that Belichick, never a ray of sunshine, was especially grouchy. Asked about Taylor, who finished with 170 yards, Belichick said, “I’ve said it like five times, I could just say it another five times. We didn’t do anything well enough to win tonight, including giving up 225 yards rushing.”
The loss cost the Patriots pole position for the conference’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Next up: Buffalo, their closest pursuer in the AFC East.
“If we don’t handle it well, it’ll be our season,” defensive back Devin McCourty said. “Guys in here have all lost games. We started the season off losing games, so we know what we need to do, and we know how we need to practice against a team we know well.”
The Patriots still hold a one-game lead over Buffalo in the AFC East; they could clinch a playoff berth and all but wrap up the division by beating the Bills next week. And New England has the second-easiest remaining schedule in the conference (to the Chargers), with its last two games against Jacksonville and Miami.
Hunter Henry caught two touchdown passes and now leads all NFL tight ends with nine for the season; it’s also a career high. Nick Folk got a personal high with his 34th field goal of the season. He has made 53 in a row from inside 50 yards, and his 133 points this year are also a personal best.
PATRIOTS SAFETY Kyle Dugger and Colts receiver Michael Pittman were ejected from Saturday night’s game in the third quarter for getting into an altercation. Belichick understood why those two players were tossed, but Monday during a video call with reporters, couldn’t fathom why Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton also didn’t get the gate for shoving an official during that third-quarter scrum.
“Based on the rule, I don’t see why T.Y. Hilton wasn’t ejected. He pushed an official, that was pretty clear. … And those plays are reviewable and are reviewed, so I don’t understand that one. You’d have to talk to the officials about that one.”
AFTER SATURDAY’S LOSS to Indianapolis, Jones claimed the team didn’t have a good week of practice leading up to the game. The Patriots’ rookie quarterback said “the energy was kind of low,” and “not to get into details, but we just didn’t practice well, and that just reflects how we played.”
Belichick, during a radio appearance Monday, was asked about what he saw in practice that might have led to a 27-17 loss, which was a penalty-filled, mistake-filled effort on the part of the Patriots.
“Just execution, concentration, things we didn’t do well enough,” said Belichick. “It wasn’t one thing, or one person, or whatever, it was a general level of execution in practice.”
The Patriots were flagged for eight penalties, had a punt blocked for a touchdown, and committed two costly turnovers.
“There’s obviously a lot of things we need to do better, we need to be more consistent at, and we’ll work to do those, we’ll work on them in practice,” said Belichick. “We’ll make sure we all understand what we need to do, and hopefully go out there and do it better.”
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