Awful season fittingly ends with ugly loss

Patriots-Jets takeaways: Awful season fittingly ends with ugly loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots’ nightmare season is finally over.

The Patriots lost 17-3 to the New York Jets in Sunday’s Week 18 finale at Gillette Stadium. It was a fitting end to the worst season for the Patriots in 30 years. New England finishes with a 4-13 record at the bottom of the AFC standings. They have also finished last in the AFC East division for the first time since 2000.

There will be plenty of offseason and draft coverage in the days, weeks and months to come. The most prominent storyline is the future of head coach Bill Belichick.

But before we look too far ahead, here are four takeaways from Patriots-Jets.

Top-three pick secured

The Patriots have secured at least the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which is great for the franchise because it assures them a chance to select one of the top three quarterback prospects or the top wide receiver available (Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.).

🔊 Next Pats: Why Jayden Daniels should be the third QB taken in the 2024 NFL Draft | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

New England could still move up to the No. 2 pick, but that would require the Washington Commanders losing to the Dallas Cowboys late Sunday afternoon. The chances of the Commanders winning are pretty low considering they are an awful team, plus the fact the Cowboys need a victory to secure the NFC East title and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

The last time the Patriots had a top-five pick was 1994 when they selected USC linebacker Willie McGinest at No. 4 overall. Time will tell if their 2024 pick enjoys as much success in Foxboro as McGinest, who won three Super Bowl titles as a Patriot.

The streak is over

The Patriots had beaten the Jets 15 consecutive times entering Sunday, which was easily the longest active win streak versus one opponent in the league.

It’s now over.

The Jets’ win over the Patriots is their first since Week 16 of the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-jets-takeaways-awful-season-211119370.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-01-07 21:14:48

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.