Getty Bill Belichick on the sidelines during Super Bowl XLIV.
Bill Belichick has no misgivings about the way Buffalo Bills fans feel about him.
The New England Patriots coach is 35-7 against the Bills, with the AFC East rivals beating Buffalo in all manners during that time, including a number of blowouts. The Bills were able to exorcism some demons last season, beating the Patriots twice en route to the franchise’s first AFC East title since 1995. The teams are now poised to meet in a Monday Night Football matchup that will determine divisional supremacy, and Belichick is opening up about his relationship with Bills fans.
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No Love Lost for Belichick
Shortly after the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans on Sunday to reclaim the lead in the AFC East by a half-game over the Bills, attention turned to the December 6 matchup in Orchard Park between the rivals. The Patriots have won six games in a row, while the reeling Bills righted the ship in a Thanksgiving night blowout of the New Orleans Saints to keep pace.
Appearing on WEEI this week, Belichick said realizes that he’s not a favorite of Bills fans.
“They definitely don’t like me,” Belichick said, via the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian.
Bill Belichick on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on the Bills mafia: “They definitely don’t like me.”
Belichick will be facing a Bills team angry about their inconsistent play in recent weeks. After Thursday’s win over the Saints, head coach Sean McDermott praised the way the team bounced back from a rough loss to the Indianapolis Colts just days before. He singled out the defensive line, which had just been gashed by Colts running back Jonathan Taylor but helped hold the Saints to 190 total yards.
Patriots last 6 games
W-L: 6-0
PPG: 35.2
PPG Allowed: 10.5
Turnovers: 4
Takeaways: 17
After the game, Bills defensive lineman Mario Addison said the team needed to re-set after the Colts loss and take a fresh mindset to the Saints game.
“We work so hard and the way we came up short [vs. the Colts], it can be demoralizing. Like I said, I’ve been in this league a long time. I’ve kicked a lot of peoples a–, and I’ve got my a– kicked, too. That’s just the nature of the business. But you’ve got to flush that and do it all over again and everybody had a great mindset going into this game and we were ready,” Addison said via video conference.
Belichick Earning Coach of the Year Buzz
After a 2020 season where the Patriots struggled to offset the loss of Tom Brady, Belichick has put together one of the league’s best defenses and gotten strong play from rookie signal-caller Mac Jones. ESPN’s Dan Graziano said that Belichick is worthy of consideration for Coach of the Year, even if he doesn’t fit the profile of a coach who outperforms expectations and a team no one expected to do so well.
“Belichick is in this race because of that — and also because his team appears to be one that can beat you in a number of different ways,” Graziano wrote. “Can’t run the ball? Fine. Jones throws for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Can’t stop the run? No problem. Strip the ball from the running backs at the end of their long runs.”
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