FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When Breece Hall dove headfirst into the snow in the end zone at the end of a 50-yard touchdown run, his Jets teammates dove with him and watched as the snow angels came. It would have been.
You could tell by the smile on co-owner Christopher Johnson's face as he greeted players entering the locker room after 17 games for the Jets and three for the Patriots. And I heard it in a visiting locker room of players who had known nothing but pain, suffering, and humiliation. They represented a franchise that had lost 15 straight games to Bill Belichick…until Sunday, in what would likely be his last game as coach of the New England Patriots, the team sent their tormentor out with a loss. Ta.
New York Jets Good Riddance.
“Now we don't have to talk about that awful streak in the Patriots' first game next year,” Tyler Conklin said. “And I think the fact that this is probably the last game for the Bills makes this game a little bit better. Being the Jets and given the losing streak they had against us, I think he Beating them while he's still there is definitely going to be better than us beating them without him.”
There was joy written on second-year safety Tony Adams' face as he talked about Bailey Zappe's interception.
“Me and my homeboys were on the phone and we were like, 'If we get the pick in Bill Belichick's last game, that's going to be crazy.'” We're going to make history! ''' Adams said.
He was waiting for someone to deliver the ball.
“That will stay with me forever. My homeboy [said] Just to see if he signs it,” Adams said.
Well, good luck.
Without the Tuck Rule Hail Mary Miracle 11th-hour agreement between Robert and Jonathan Kraft that no one could have imagined, the dynasty was over, and so was one of the most remarkable dynasties in NFL history given its era.
In the final minutes, Belichick had a mask on his face and only his eyes were visible. The snow on Belichick's woolen hat leads him to a postgame handshake with Robert Saleh and into the locker room, where he will likely address the Patriots for the last time. .
“It's a great way for us to send him out the way the Jets did, but it's a loss,” Solomon Thomas said.
It's time for him to go…and when his winning time is up, few would argue that 24 years in one place is well past its expiration date in one place.
Especially after Plymouth hit what could be called rock bottom.
“It's always special to beat him,” Saleh said.
CJ Mosley never beat Belichick in either Baltimore or the Jets until the end of the Evil Empire.
“Is it official yet?” Mosley asked.
It will happen.
“I'm just glad we got the win and I'm glad he won't be able to celebrate against the Jets,” Mosley said.
You may win six Super Bowls and be hailed as “The GOAT,” but Black Monday, Black Tuesday, and Wednesday will still be chasing you anyway.
Love him or hate him, you'll never see someone like him again in New England. He was a New England Lombard. He was the Sinatra of New England. he did it his way.
Just because the yellow brick road has ended doesn't mean it's easy to follow in the man's footsteps.
Phil Bengston followed Lombardi. Ray Hundley followed Bill Parcells. Ben McAdoo followed Tom Coughlin. Get that picture?
Belichick has seen six Jets head coaches come and go, but now it's his turn. Because they made him buy the wrong groceries for the dinner he made.
The debate will continue to rage over who makes more sense for the dynasty, him or Tom Brady. Brady supporters won their seventh Super Bowl without Belichick, but Belichick has an advantage because he never won a Super Bowl without Brady.
I think of it like this: Neither would have been able to hoist six Lombardi trophies as the Patriots without the other.
But it's safe to conclude that Belichick underestimated what a 40-something Brady would mean to his Super Bowl aspirations.
Belichick then said in a hoarse voice, sounding more sad than usual. “None of us are ever satisfied, but it is what it is.”
He just asked to meet with Kraft this week and still enjoys coaching.
He only answered questions about the match.
Did the field give you any different feelings?
“I was definitely disappointed with the way the game played out,” he said.
Are you planning on coaching a team here next year?
“I was disappointed with the way the game ended, yeah,” he said.
Is it your hope to come back and coach the team next season?
“Yeah, I just finished a game here against the Jets. I put everything I had into this game. I was disappointed with the result,” Belichick said.
Ding Dong, the evil witch of the AFC East, has passed away.
