Bill Belichick offers completely unconvincing postgame praise of the Falcons

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick praised the Falcons for being “competitive” after shutting them out in a 25-0 win on TNF. 

Contrary to popular belief, Bill Belichick does have a sense of humor.

It’s a dry, sardonic kind of humor that can be as fleeting as one of his rare smiles.

And it’s popularly found in his press conferences, often not by what he says, but by what he refuses to say.

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After forcing another shutout loss — this time, a 25-0 rout of the Atlanta Falcons — Belichick went so far as to say the Falcons played “competitively” during their Week 11 Thursday Night Football game.

Bill Belichick offers praise for Falcons after defeating them 25-0

While the Falcons and Patriots had comparative passing yards during the game, additional game stats demonstrate how the 7-4 Patriots were on a different level entirely compared to the 4-6 Falcons.

Matt Ryan threw for 153 yards while Mac Jones threw for 207, but Jones’ 22/26 completions was trimmer than Ryan’s 19/28. Jones threw one interception in his biggest error of the night, while Ryan threw two — then backups Josh Rosen and Feleipe Franks each threw one for a total of four Falcons turnovers.

However, it was the Patriots’ run game that really put this game out of reach for the Falcons. The Patriots rushed for 134 on 30 carries, while the Falcons only managed 40 yards on 16 tries.

“Competitive” doesn’t exactly describe any aspect of the Falcons in their second 25-point deficit to the Patriots. To add to the mythical nature of the New England franchise, the resounding defeat was exactly the same amount of points that the Patriots scored in their historic comeback from 28-3 in Super Bowl LI.

The Falcons may never fully heal from the scars inflicted by the Patriots in Feb. 2017, but Belichick still praised the Falcons for the spectacular rookie season by Kyle Pitts.

Of course, Belichick compliments the players he intends to eliminate, and Pitts was held to three catches for 29 yards.

Reading between the lines, it’s clear there was little to compliment as the Falcons fell by the wayside without scoring a single point. “Competitive” is as polite — or sarcastic — as it can get.