Bill Belichick, Patriots Eliminated from NFL Playoff Contention as Bengals Beat Colts

For the second consecutive season, the NFL playoffs will not feature the New England Patriots.

The Patriots were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention Sunday afternoon following the Cincinnati Bengals' 34-14 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

This marks the Patriots' earliest postseason elimination since head coach Bill Belichick's debut season with the team in 2000, according to NFL.com's Grant Gordon.

The Patriots are 3-10 and sit one loss away from the second 11-loss season of Belichick's New England career.

This marks the third time in four seasons the Patriots have missed the playoffs since the departure of franchise quarterback Tom Brady in 2020.

The team last qualified for the postseason as a wild card following a 10-7 campaign in 2021.

The Patriots' hopes of grabbing another wild card spot were briefly renewed Thursday as backup quarterback Bailey Zappe led the team to a 21-18 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That victory was enough to keep New England's playoff hopes mathematically alive for a few more days, if barely, with the team's odds sitting about 0.01 percent following the win, according to CBS Sports' John Breech.

In order to make it into the playoffs with 10 losses, the Patriots would have needed not only to win out, but for the Steelers, Bengals, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos to lose the majority of their remaining games.

The Bengals did not follow this plan.

The Patriots' early playoff elimination is likely to accelerate rumors of Belichick potentially leaving the franchise this offseason.

Although Belichick signed a "lucrative, multiyear contract extension" with the Patriots prior to the season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman), The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported Thursday that the 71-year-old coach could potentially command a return as significant for a first-round pick in a trade.

That could be a tempting offer for a team that will soon be planning a rebuild around what is likely to be a top-five pick in the 2024 draft.