BILL BELICHICK WAS in an upbeat mood after the New England Patriots’ dramatic defeat to the Miami Dolphins, saying “no one died”.
Belichick can always be counted on to convey succinct, pithy messages, whether to his team or the media, and that was the case following Sunday’s stunning 34-33 NFL loss against the Dolphins.
When asked what he told his players after Miami’s last-second lateral play beat New England, Pats head coach Belichick told Boston’s WEEI: “It’s the National Football League. No one died.
“We’ve got a big game this week against Pittsburgh. We’ve got a two-game lead in the division. There’s a lot of football left in the season. We’ll see how it goes.”
Belichick, meanwhile, shouldered responsibility for New England’s loss against Miami after the Patriots (9-4) had taken a 33-28 lead with 16 seconds remaining.
“It starts with me. We have to play better situational football. We’ll work to try to achieve that,” Belichick said.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady remembered some of the team’s tough losses from the past but remained positive ahead of a showdown with the Steelers.
“We’ve had a lot of tough losses over the years. We lost pretty important games,” Brady said. “What’s the difference between losing by 14 down there, losing by 50, or losing by 1? They all count the same.
“Mental toughness is mental toughness. You realise that a lot of things had to go right for them to win, and they did. You know, give them credit. They made some important plays.”
Brady broke down New England’s road struggles, which continued at Hard Rock Stadium.
He said the losses in week two against the Jacksonville Jaguars and week three against the Detroit Lions were due to slow starts, while the clash with the Tennessee Titans was because their opponents physically outplayed the Patriots.
But against the Dolphins, Brady said, “We had every opportunity to win that game.”
“So it’s not [that] I don’t think we can win on the road. We’ve won on the road, played well on the road. We just have to close the deal,” he added.
New England, who are atop the AFC East at 9-4, will have a chance to even their road record in Pittsburgh in week 15.
“We still have a lot of football to play. There was a lot of positives from yesterday’s game that we have to kind of use going forward, that we will use going forward. Our whole season is ahead of us, so let’s make the most of it,” Brady said.
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