New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick emphasises on winning next game – NFL News
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick considers winning Week 17 game as their first priority at the moment even though the team has already qualified for the playoffs.
Patriots have won 11 and lost four games in this season, and they are the leaders of American Football Conference (AFC) East.
Overall, they have played well, except a few close games which they have lost. They are going to play their next game against their division rivals Miami Dolphins on Sunday, December 30.
Dolphins are standing at second position in the division, with 7-8 record in the season.
According to Belichick, they have to beat Dolphins in the final game of the regular season, in order to make their position stronger in the playoffs.
Right now, Patriots are among the top five teams of AFC. Winning the next game will be the best positive thing that can happen to the Patriots at the end of the season.
Patriots have won all five games they played against their divisional teams this season. Emphasising on winning the next game, Belichick said:
“There’s nothing we can do to help our situation unless we win. We have to win for anything positive to happen. There is no guarantee that it will but that’s the first prerequisite so we’re operating under that premise. We have to go out there and win. If
we want things to be better, we have to help ourselves. We have to do that first. That’s really what it’s all about.”
Patriots defeated Dolphins in their first match up on December 2, by 23-16. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady faced problems during the game.
Brady was sacked four times and also threw an interception. His pass completion percentage (60) was not even good. He completed 24 of 40 passes for 238 yards and scored a touchdown.
On the other hand, Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker performed well against Dolphins. He received 12 passes for 103 yards and scored a touchdown.
Talking about playing against Dolphins defence, Belichick said:
“Miami is a good defence, they do a good job against everything. Hopefully we can move the ball and score some points on them this time, but I’m sure it will be challenging.”
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