Ever since Tom Brady left the New England Patriots following the 2019 season, it has been a brave new world for the once-envied franchise.
They won six Super Bowls between the 2001 and 2018 campaigns, but now they’re in a real drought, as they haven’t won a single playoff game since that last world championship over the Los Angeles Rams.
New England is now one of a number of NFL teams that are without a playoff victory over the last four seasons.
Teams without a playoff win over the last 4 seasons
Lions
Dolphins
Raiders
Commanders
Jets
Bears
Panthers
Cardinals
Broncos
Steelers
Falcons
Chargers
Colts
PATRIOTS pic.twitter.com/2jNbVkqgwY— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) July 7, 2023
Rebuilding in the NFL after losing a franchise quarterback is hard, and it has taken a number of franchises that won at least one Super Bowl with a Hall of Fame signal-caller many years, if not decades, to find another one.
In 2021, the Patriots took quarterback Mac Jones with the No. 15 pick in the draft, and he had a promising rookie season, throwing for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns while completing 67.6 percent of his passes.
Jones made the Pro Bowl that year while guiding New England to the playoffs, and the thinking was that they had perhaps already found their next franchise QB.
But in 2022, Jones’ production declined, and now the outlook has darkened for the once-dynastic franchise.
This coming season, head coach Bill Belichick will have wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is fresh off winning the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as tight end Mike Gesicki.
Gesicki has scored 18 touchdowns over the last four seasons, and Belichick has historically used his tight ends quite a bit in his offense.
NEXT: Photo Shows Mac Jones Meeting A Patriots Legend
