Belichick, Patriots Look to Avoid Another September Stumble

Bill Belichick is a certain Hall-of-Fame coach closing in on the NFL's all-time win mark, but in the wake of Tom Brady's departure he and the New England Patriots have been slow starters in September.

Bill Belichick is more about execution than energy. Not surprisingly, through the years his New England Patriots haven't been fast starters.

In Tom Brady's final season in Foxboro, the Pats began 8-0. In his wake, however, they've dug an early hole with "September Stumbles" that have led to no playoff wins the last three seasons.

Last year the Pats lost, 20-7, in Miami on their way to 1-3. In 2021, another loss to the Dolphins and a similar 1-3 start. In 2020, quarterback Cam Newton won the season opener but found his team buried before Halloween at 2-5.

The slow starts aren't necessarily surprising. Despite closing in on the NFL record for most all-time coaching victories, Belichick is only so-so in September. Destined to be No. 1 overall, he's barely Top 10 in the season's first month.

Belichick is 60-35 in September, his .632 win percentage good for only ninth-best among active coaches. (His total win percentage with New England is .708.) The Los Angeles Rams' Sean McVay is an impressive 16-4, tops in the league.

When Belichick coaches his 29th career opener Sunday when the Pats host the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on Brady Appreciation Day, his team can't afford another sluggish break from the gates. In an AFC East many experts feel is the best division in football, the Pats play three of their first four games against 2022 playoff teams (Eagles, Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys). The other game? At the New York Jets and new quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Like last season, New England enters Week 1 as an underdog (the Eagles are favored by four points). Before 2022, the Pats were last underdogs in a season opener in 2016.

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