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What Bill Belichick said about Patriots’ win over Jets, Josh Uche trade
"Big win for the Patriots at home against the Jets. And [the] Jets are now in a tough spot.”
After spending the last week ripping into Jerod Mayo and his “soft” comments toward the Patriots roster, Bill Belichick had more to say about Mayo, the Patriots, and New England’s upset win over the Jets during his weekly appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Here are a few highlights from Belichick’s latest media appearance:
A brief tip of the cap to Patriots …
The past week was an eventful one in Foxborough, especially after Mayo publicly labeled his team “soft” following a loss to the Jaguars in London. Even though New England’s rookie head coach backtracked the following day, the damage was done once his initial blunt comments landed in the media cycle.
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And sure enough, Belichick spent most of the last week calling out Mayo on his several media obligations, be it “The Pat McAfee Show”, the “Let’s Go!” podcast, or his “Coach” podcast series with Underdog Fantasy.
But amid all of the flak Mayo received over the last week, his players responded in their next game on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
Despite being matched up against a more talented Jets team (and with Drake Maye out for a majority of the game due to a concussion), New England managed to come away with a dramatic 25-22 win, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just 22 seconds left on the clock.
After New England’s upset win, several players credited Mayo’s comments for lighting a fire under a roster previously mired in a six-game losing streak.
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“When somebody calls you out as a man, you can’t get all sensitive about it,” Keion White said. “You just have to say ‘OK, I’m going to show you’ and take it as a challenge and I think we did that. That’s just a testament to his coaching and how we are receptive to him as a coach because we didn’t get defensive and we didn’t shut down. We took it as a challenge.”
Speaking on Monday, Belichick gave credit to the Patriots for coming away with a win — at least to some extent. While he did commend the Patriots for delivering on Sunday against New York, most of his commentary on the game focused on the Jets’ shortcomings.
“It was a great Jacoby [Brissett] and the Patriots there at the end,” Belichick noted. “Obviously, [Rhamondre] Stevenson had a big game. You know, tough day for the Jets … Maye ran for more than he threw for. … Big win for them. Big win for the Patriots at home against the Jets. And [the] Jets are now in a tough spot.”
Belichick draws retort from Jets pass-rusher
In that same response where Belichick harped on the late-game drive from Brissett, Belichick made sure to twist the knife against a team he’s loathed for a long time in the Jets.
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“Just a lot of mistakes by the Jets, and then that ended up killing them in the end, with Jacoby’s scrambles. [Kayshon] Boutte made a catch down there,” Belichick said. “There were several drops in the game, but just a game that you look at Jacoby — and then [Haason] Reddick came in the game and just ran past the quarterback multiple times, whether it was Maye or Jacoby, and created those scramble lanes that the Patriots took advantage of.”
MassLive’s Chris Mason posted a video of Reddick blowing right by Brissett during New England’s game-winning drive.
Reddick respond to Belichick’s criticism on X.
“Aye someone call Bill Belichick and give him a job. Seems like he’s home bored and can’t keep me out of his mouth,” Reddick wrote on social media.
Belichick later turned to his attention to Jets owner Woody Johnson, who he previously called out earlier this month for his decision to fire New York head coach Robert Saleh.
“It starts at the top and as you said, Woody starting pulling the levers. … It seems like a lot of moves here by Woody that I don’t really understand how they add up,” Belichick said of Johnson.
A failing grade on Uche trade
While Belichick gave credit to the Patriots for handing the Jets a loss, he thought that there was a clear winner in Monday’s trade that sent pass-rusher Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Surprise, surprise — it was not New England, from Belichick’s perspective.
“I think it’s a great move for Kansas City,” Belichick said. “They didn’t give up anything for him.”
New England acquired a 2026 sixth-round pick for Uche, who should help bolster the pass-rushing capabilities of a Kansas City team looking to win its third Super Bowl in a row.
Belichick noted that if Uche leaves the Chiefs in free agency this upcoming year, Kansas City would likely receive a 2026 sixth-round comp pick in return — negating some of the initial value that New England secured in this trade.
“Okay, so a 2026 6th rounder, they take them this year. If they don’t re-sign him, they’ll probably get a sixth as a comp pick. So it washes out,” Belichick said. “If they do re-sign him, then that means they like the player, and the player can help them win. And so it’s a great trade. So, I mean, I think it’s a great trade for Kansas City.
“It sounds like the Patriots probably could have got more for him last week, but… it sounds like it didn’t work out.”
Even with a down season in 2024 (two sacks in seven games), Uche has one 11.5-sack campaign on his resume in 2022. And sure enough, Belichick managed to land another slight dig about the current state of the Patriots when asked about how Uche was utilized this year in Foxborough.
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“Look, Josh Uche is a really good rusher,” Belichick said of Uche, who he drafted in New England in 2020. “He hasn’t had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots, because they’ve been behind a lot. And, you know, the situation hasn’t been good. But he had a big year two years ago now, he had Judon on the other side of him, so it was two good pass rushers.
“But he’ll have a lot of opportunities to rush in Kansas City. I think that he’ll really help him. He’s got surprising power for his size. He’s got excellent quickness and a good get off, and he has some flexibility in coverage. I think it’s a good addition for a team that needs another pass rusher, which everybody does. Josh can do that. He’ll definitely help him.”
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