FOXBORO -- After losing to the Bills, 16-0, Patriots coach Bill Belichick indicated his team didn't know whether or not Jimmy Garoppolo would play until just before the game.
Garoppolo was limited in practice all week leading up to the game, and Tom E. Curran reported on Sunday morning that the team would evaluate him that morning before determining if he would dress.
BILLS 16, PATRIOTS 0: Perry: First impressions from the game | Curran: Best and worst | Felger: Pats 'coached scared' with Brissett at QB | Brown: It was a 'complete debacle' | Curran: Shows how hard it is to win in the NFL |
Belichick spelled out, in a relatively staccato fashion, the timeline of the team's decision in his postgame press conference.
When was the decision made to to use Garoppolo? "When we made him inactive," Belichick replied.
And when was that? "We did the inactives today," he said.
But did you know on Saturday that he would not be able to perform? "We did the inactives today," Belichick repeated.
New England Patriots
Belichick's team couldn't muster much in the way of production on either side of the football Sunday, and at one point, television cameras caught Belichick spiking his electronic tablet on the sidelines in frustration.
The Patriots converted on just 1 of 12 third-down attempts. They lost the time-of-possession battle. The lost the turnover battle, and fumbled five times in all. The Patriots also racked up nine penalties -- three more than the Bills -- for 74 yards.
"I didn't think anything was good enough," Belichick said. "Nothing was good enough at any position, in any phase of the game. It just wasn't good enough."