THE COIN TOSS: The Patriots won their next two games before playing the New York Jets on Dec. 27,Cheap China Jerseys. New England trailed for most of the game before Brady hit James White for a touchdown with just under 2 minutes remaining to send the game into overtime.
Belichick's decisions — some risky but reasonable, others downright puzzling — were a big reason why.
Among his players, there's still absolute loyalty.
The Patriots wouldn't have even been in Denver — where quarterback Tom Brady has a 2-7 record — but for a rare December collapse by a team that has been one of the league's best finishers.
FOURTH-AND-GO: The playoff victory against Kansas City was uneventful — if you don't count the twice-deflected, almost intercepted second-down pass to Julian Edelman when New England was just trying to run out the clock. That landed the Patriots in Denver, where Brady and the rest of the team have struggled.
Here are some of the decisions that proved costly in New England's failure to repeat as champions:
"We can't say 'What if? If this was that. If that was that,'" special teams captain Matthew Slater said on Monday. "They were what they were and we had to go there and play. We didn't play well enough to win. Simple as that."
The thus-far overmatched Eagles — who would fire their coach before finishing a 7-9 season — fielded it and drove for their first touchdown, then added another to tie it before the half. In all, Philadelphia scored five straight touchdowns after the unusual play.
But more than any time since the hoodied football guru began filling the team's trophy case, fans here are beginning to question his judgment.
THE EXTRA POINT: Belichick didn't shank the first-quarter extra point that wound up costing the Patriots in Sunday's game — that was kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who had made an NFL-record 523 in a row to that point.
Mission accomplished.
THE MIAMI MISADVENTURE: The following week,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, the final game of the regular season, the Patriots played the Dolphins — another team that was mired in the middle of a coach-firing season. Amid questions of whether it would be better to go all-out for the win or rest key players for the playoffs, Belichick opted for a middle strategy.
While only the most extreme talk radio loudmouths would be calling for the head of a four-time Super Bowl winner after a few failed moves, Belichick conceded on Monday that he second-guesses himself "all the time."
Winning just two of their last six regular-season games, the Patriots finished one win short of home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs.
Gostkowski said he felt as if he lost the game for the team. His coach would have none of that.
As it turned out, the Patriots got two more possessions inside the Denver 20. With 2:25 left, Belichick went for it on fourth-and-6 from the Denver 14. The pass to Rob Gronkowski was over his head.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — You still see T-shirts around the home of the New England Patriots with coach Bill Belichick's scowling face and the mantra "In Bill We Trust."
The following week,Cheap Authentic NFL Jerseys, the Patriots again opened a two-touchdown lead — this time over Philadelphia. After scoring to make it 14-0 midway through the second quarter, Belichick inexplicably called for a rugby-style onside kick from safety Nate Ebner.
With a dominating pass rush,Cheap Basketball Jerseys, the Broncos took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. There was just over 6 minutes left when the Patriots faced a fourth-and-1 at the Denver 16. A field goal put them in position to win — if they could get the ball back and score again.
Two decisions to forego a field goal and go for it on fourth down in Sunday's AFC championship game was just the latest in a series of calls that didn't work out for Belichick and the Patriots this season. The Broncos won 20-18 to earn a trip to Super Bowl 50 that the defending champions had considered their birthright.
The Patriots got the ball back again, and scored. But the 2-point conversion to tie failed, and so did the onside kick attempt with 12 seconds left.
"I think each of us that competed in the game — players, coaches — probably feel the same way," Belichick said on Monday. "A couple of plays, calls, that you'd like to have back."
THE RUGBY KICK: Winners of their first 10 games,Jerseys From China, the Patriots arrived in Denver on Nov. 29 with a chance to open a three-game lead over the Broncos in the race for the AFC's top seed.