Bill Belichick Continues Dominance vs. Bills and Sean McDermott

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches in football history. As an admitted Belichick hater, the guy annoys me constantly with just how he can craft a game to go exactly how he wants it to.

In the New England Patriots game last night on MNF against the Buffalo Bills, this is exactly what The Hoody did. Maybe it was in response to being swept last season by Sean McDermott and the Bills. Especially considering the success New England had against them in the past. But, they also had Tom Brady in the past.

So, before we dig a little deeper into last night’s game, let's take a look back at just how much Belichick has dominated the Bills and their head coach. 

Heading into Monday Night Football, Belichick was 35-7 against the Buffalo Bills since taking over in New England from one Pete Carroll. That record includes a 15-game run from 2003 to 2010 in which the Pats remained unbeaten by the Bills. 

While a lot of the focus on the Pats in the last decade or so has been on Brady and the offense, their defense was always there helping out. This is very true for games against the Bills since 2000. In the last 21 years or so, the Patriots have held the Bills to ten points or less in 16 of the 42 total games played. That shakes out to 38.1 percent of all games and the Patriots won every one of them. Three of those games occurred under McDermott’s rule in Buffalo. 

McDermott finally managed to beat the Patriots last season as I mentioned above. But, that seems to have awoken a sleeping giant. After being swept by NE in three straight seasons, Buffalo went 2-0 against their AFC rivals in the best season the team has had in decades. It was the first time that the Bills beat the Patriots twice in a season with Belichick calling the shots. The nature of one of those losses stung Belickich after his team got roasted 38-9 in 2020. The game, which also took place on Monday night, was the second-most points the Patriots had ever allowed to the Bills. 

That brings us back to last night’s game where Belichick came out with one of the most mind-boggling gameplans I have ever seen from an NFL team. I missed the beginning of the game but was sure there was a typo when I clicked on and the Patriots were winning but Mac Jones has just one passing attempt. He hit that one passing attempt but still. The Patriots ended up winning this game with Jones going 2-for-3 with 19 yards and a QBR of 4.3. Amazing. Especially considering that the Patriots don’t have a superstar player and their best rusher, Damien Harris, injured himself and didn’t finish the game. To me, this was not only a unique way to work around serious weather issues but also a way to embarrass McDermott and the Bills after last season.

I, for one, can’t wait until these two face off again in Week 15 in Foxboro.