The Patriots are out of the playoff picture. Fans are clamoring for Bill Belichick to play the kids — specifically, a young quarterback who was drafted the year before, but ended up sitting behind the veteran signal caller.
Sound familiar?
For New England, there are some parallels between what the 2000 team went through in December and what the 2020 roster is enduring right now, specifically at quarterback. And while there’s debate as to what Belichick should do with the last two games — play veteran Cam Newton or give second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham a shot — there was a similar back-and-forth 20 years ago.