Patriots demise pushing Bill Belichick closer to unfortunate NFL history

It wasn't too long ago that the New England Patriots won their last Super Bowl. That was in the 2018 season. But in 2023, the Patriots look like a shell of their former selves. Since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season, New England made the playoffs just once (2021) and has no playoff wins. Fans thought the 2022 season was bad, 2023 looks even worse for the team and head coach Bill Belichick.

Following the Patriots' 21-17 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the team is now 1-5 on the season. With the rate the team is. going, the Patriots may very well be in contention for the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. If the losses continue to pile up, Belichick could make history this year.

Belichick is now 299-157 in his career as a head coach in the regular season, meaning that he is nine losses away from breaking the all-time losses record, via ProFootballTalk. The current record is held by Dan Reeves and Jeff Fisher, both of whom have 165 losses to their record. But if you are to include the playoffs, Tom Landry holds the record with 178, with Belichick sitting at 170.

Bill Belichick could break all-time losses record in NFL history this season

While Belichick is on pace to break the all-time losses record this season, he's not that far off from breaking the all-time wins record. Belichick has 299 victories to his credit, sitting third all-time. Don Shula holds the record with 328 wins. George Halas is second with 318 victories.

The season has not gone well for Belichick. While the team put up fights against the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins through the first two weeks of the season, they were held to just three points in Weeks 4 and 5 when they played the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. While the team did play a close contest against the Raiders, it wasn't enough, and Belichick is now 0-3 against his former offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels.

New England's quarterback play has been under the microscope, with Mac Jones struggling even further since his rookie season. Entering Week 6, Jones was reportedly on a "short leash," with backups, Bailey Zappe and Will Grier receiving reps in practice if they were to play. Yet, Jones played the entire game, completing 24-of-33 pass attempts for 200 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception.

With this, Belichick's status with the Patriots is in question. While he did help bring six Super Bowl championships since 2001 to New England, the team has been playing poorly this season. If the Patriots continue to fall down the standings, the offseason will be one to follow.