Coach Bill Belichick’s potential last game with the New England Patriots was a high-scoring game, in a way he won’t want to remember.
The Patriots lost to the Jets 17-3 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, ending New York’s 15-game losing streak to New England. The Patriots recorded 119 yards of offense, the fewest of the Belichick era. The team’s previous low was 149 against the Miami Dolphins on October 7, 2001.
Rumors abound — as they have for much of the fall — that Belichick and the Patriots could part ways at the end of the season. Answers about the franchise’s future are expected to come after a meeting with owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft and Belichick shortly after Sunday’s game.
When asked about his future postgame, Belichick said he would only talk about Sunday’s game.
“Disappointed with the way the game ended,” Belichick said when asked if he thinks he will return to the Patriots. Belichick added that he “still enjoys coaching.”
The team’s struggling offense traded quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe this fall before settling on Zappe as the starter in late November. He went 12 of 30 with 88 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in the fourth quarter against a Jets team that has had a dramatic season of quarterback issues.
The Jets’ Trevor Siemian — a starter for Zach Wilson who was moved to injured reserve with a concussion Saturday — also failed to throw a touchdown. I finished 8 for 20 with 70 yards throwing.
With Sunday’s loss, the Patriots finished the season at 4-13 and are last in the AFC East for the first time since 2000, Belichick’s first year on the job.
Belichick is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, building a dynasty with quarterback Tom Brady and winning nine AFC championships and six Super Bowls (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018). Under Belichick, the franchise had a winning record in 20 of his 24 seasons.
However, the relationship between Brady and Belichick fractured at the end of the 2019 season, and Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. The following season, Brady led the Bucs to the Super Bowl title, the seventh of his storied career.
Over the past four years, the Patriots, meanwhile, have tested quarterbacks Cam Newton, Jones and Zappe as their offense slowly became one of the worst in the league.
After arguably the best 20-year run in league history, the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since the 2018 Super Bowl and have gone 30-37 since Brady left.
Bill Belichick is walking off the field as head coach of the Patriots for potentially the last time.
In typical Belichick fashion, there was no extra emotion, no greeting to the fans, no big hit. pic.twitter.com/0uMYlj7IQL
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) January 7, 2024
NFL coaching changes live updates: Coaches fired, on the hot seat, latest Belichick news, rumors and job candidates
What’s next for Belichick?
All eyes are on Belichick. He has brought more success to a franchise than any coach ever seen. But the Patriots just finished their worst season since 1992.
They’ve had a losing record in three of the four years since Brady left, leaving Belichick’s future very much up in the air. He is expected to meet with the Krafts on Monday to discuss their path forward, but at this point, a “mutual parting” of ways is very possible, if not likely. Belichick and Robert Kraft have had differences for years, but now the success that smoothed over those difficult moments has faded.
The Patriots run their franchise much differently than any other, a compartmentalized organization where collaboration is often discouraged in favor of whatever Belichick path seems right. What he has chosen in recent years has not worked. This could lead to Kraft wanting a change and a more modern approach to the organizational structure. News on Belichick’s future could come as early as Monday. —Chad Graff, Patriots staff writer

GO DEEPER
Why the Patriots’ Bill Belichick-Robert Kraft partnership is on the verge of breaking up
What is the future of the Patriots?
It was a fitting end to the season for the Patriots offense, which finished with the fewest points scored of any team. No matter who the coach is, the Patriots need a major overhaul on that side of the ball, including (but not limited to) a new quarterback, several new wide receivers and at least one new offensive tackle. —Graff
The Jets finally ended their 15-game losing streak against the Patriots and Belichick. The game made no sense in the grand scheme of things — these were two bad teams playing a game that didn’t matter at the end of disappointing seasons for both — but at least the Jets finally got this monkey off their backs. They did it on the heels of running back Breece Hall.
The Jets star set a career high with 37 carries for 178 yards and surpassed 1,500 total yards for the season with his performance, the first Jets to do so since Thomas Jones in 2008. The most impressive part is that Hall did it in his first year after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. Hall clinched the victory with a 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Now the Jets enter the offseason with a lot of questions, but Hall isn’t one of them. Expect the Jets to build their offense around his talents as both a runner and a pass catcher, and if he stays healthy, they should have a chance at 2,000 yards with Aaron Rodgers next year. —Zack Rosenblatt, Jets staff writer
NFL Playoff Bracket, Scenarios, Predicted Matchups & Live Seeding Updates – Full Sunday Schedule
Mandatory reading
(Photo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)