NFL week 1 review: The post-Belichick Patriots may not be the dumpster fire we expected

New England have lost an all-time great quarterback and coach over the last few seasons. But there are encouraging signs as they start to rebuild. 

Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys talks with broadcaster and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday. Pic:  Jason Miller/Getty Images

The post-Bill Belichick era for the New England Patriots is off to a sunny start. The Patriots went on the road Sunday and beat the Cincinnati Bengals, a widely anticipated playoff team, 16-10. New coach Jerrod Mayo, a Belichick disciple turned replacement, got a soothing Gatorade bath in his debut game. The Patriots were eight-point underdogs, and their win was the most surprising result of Week 1 action.

On some level, the Patriots’ life after Belichick figured to be bleak. The coach who brought the franchise six Super Bowls is spending this year doing broadcasting gigs, and there’s no recapturing the magic that Belichick and Tom Brady conjured together for nearly two decades. But through a different lens, the Patriots of old died when Brady walked out the door in free agency in 2020. There was nothing left to preserve by the time the Patriots parted ways with Belichick at the end of last season and hired Mayo, his former linebacker and assistant coach. A fresh start was, at that point, the only reasonable choice.