Yahoo News Bill Belichick says Bills 'deserved to win,' will return to coach Patriots in 2022
Bill Belichick isn't one to mince words, and he stayed true to that philosophy when he spoke to the media following the New England Patriots' demoralizing 47-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
“They played well. We didn’t. They deserved to win," Belichick said via the Boston Globe.
Belichick went over a handful of plays that didn't go their way, specifically calling out Bills safety Micah Hyde's end zone interception. But he concluded that it would be hard to name every single play that didn't go the Patriots' way, since there were quite a few.
“There are a lot of plays that didn’t go well tonight, so I guess that’s a pretty long list,” Belichick said.
Belichick will coach again in 2022
Despite getting back to Massachusetts very late following the game, Belichick still had his end-of-season video conference on Sunday morning. He began by thanking the press for their patience and cooperation while covering the team this season, and discussed how much he respect and appreciates not just the players, but the coaches and support staff.
Belichick said that he has no plans to make any decisions about the 2022 squad right away. While Saturday night's game was important, there were 17 others, and Belichick said he wants to take a "longer view" on the season and evaluate everything. Decisions will be made, but not right away.
"Again, the day after the season with the players and the roster is definitely not a time to make those decisions on any level," Belichick said. "The team level or the player level. I think we all need to step back and again, catch our breath, and take a longer view of things, and at some point we'll talk about certain situations — players that aren't under contract, players who whatever their future is with the team, or whatever their individual situations are, those will all be dealt with at a later point in time. Certainly not today, tomorrow, or the next day."
Belichick has made one decision concerning next season: He said plans to return to coach the Patriots for the 2022 season.
#Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked by reporters this morning if he plans on returning to coach in 2022: "I'd say that would be accurate."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2022
As Belichick himself said, he may have a lot of work to do.
Bill Belichick said last night was the least competitive game the Patriots played all season:“Is that what we are or is that a bad night? We’ll see when we start playing next year I guess.”
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) January 16, 2022
