What questions can the New England Patriots look to answer over their final two games?
In what has been a very odd year for the New England Patriots, they finally know the year will end at the conclusion of the regular-season schedule. For the first time in over 10 years, New England will not be taking part in the playoffs after it fell in Week 15 on the road against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
The Patriots dropped a divisional matchup against the Dolphins in Week 15, officially ending any hope for making a late-season push into the AFC postseason. With the loss, New England fell to 6-8 overall with a few games left to play and has officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
The run of consecutive postseason appearances for the Patriots comes to an end after an impressive stretch of continuously extending their season beyond the regular season slate the last 11 years. New England last missed the playoffs in 2008, going on to not only win the AFC East but also reaching the postseason in each of the next 11 campaigns leading up to the 2020 season.
Under head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have reached the playoffs a total of 17 times in 21 seasons at the helm of the team. Included in that stretch are nine appearances in the Super Bowl with six league championships.
But in the 2020 NFL season, New England will find itself at home watching the playoffs and watching other teams fight for a chance to claim the Super Bowl in February, ending an impressive run in Foxborough.
With the playoffs now out of the picture, the Patriots still have some things to figure out in the final two games of the schedule before the year comes to a close. While starting to prepare for the 2021 season, let’s look at some questions that will need to be answered over the course of the next few weeks for New England.
3. Is this the end for Stephon Gilmore in New England?
When it comes to talented players on the defensive side of the ball, New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore ranks near the top of the list throughout the entire NFL.
Gilmore, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019, has been a staple and anchor of a Patriots defensive unit that has been impressive over the last few years. But following the 2020 season, it might be time we see Gilmore and New England ultimately part ways going into the new year.
Leading up to the NFL Trade Deadline in November of this season, the Patriots reportedly kicked the tires on dealing their star cornerback to teams interested. The asking price was understandably high on the side of New England, as it was reported the organization was asking any interested team in the NFL for a first-round pick and a player in return for one of the top talents in the league.
Gilmore didn’t ultimately get traded at the deadline and has remained in New England this year, but that doesn’t close the door for Gilmore being dealt or at least parting ways with the Patriots this offseason as the team addresses multiple areas of the team.
Gilmore’s current contract will run through the 2021 campaign, with the three-time Pro Bowl cornerback also likely looking for a new contract sooner rather than later. The thing that makes you think he could be on his way out of New England is his age, as he just turned 30 years old in September and will turn 31 during the upcoming season.
Gilmore is undoubtedly one of the top defensive backs in the NFL yet again this year, but one thing the Patriots will have to figure out over the course of the final two games of the 2020 season is if he will remain with the team moving forward or not.