A history of Bill Belichick’s track record without Tom Brady at quarterback

2. 2020 Patriots

Team record: 7-9

Generally, we believe a coach should be held responsible for how a team plays. Whether good or bad, the buck stops with the man calling the shots. That said, Belichick deserves a pass for what took place during the 2020 NFL season.

For the first time in two decades, the Patriots no longer had No. 12 under center. Instead, Belichick was forced to deal with the widely inconsistent and erratic play of Cam Newton.

Of all the QBs Belichick has gotten his hands on, we have a hard time finding anyone who was quite as bad as Newton. He finished his first season in New England with only 2,657 passing yards, 8 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

The offense was essentially elementary. Getting into the end zone was a foreign concept as they averaged just 20.4 points per game. Where we give Belichick all the praise in the world comes from the defensive side of the ball. With a long list of notable defensive players opting out of the season due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 (in addition to free agency departures), Belichick was forced to make ends meet with secondary players, something he excelled at.

Belichick’s defense ranked seventh in the entire league as opposing teams found it nearly impossible to run or pass the ball on them consistently. With so much turmoil and the horrific play of Newton, we’ll never understand how Belichick dragged this squad to a seven-win season.