Bill Belichick's start at North Carolina hasn't exactly gotten off to a hot start. Entering Week 5, the Tar Heels were 2-2, with wins coming over non-power conference schools in Charlotte and Richmond.
UNC's two losses so far have been complete blowouts—the Tar Heels lost in Week 1 48-14 to TCU, and lost 34-9 on the road to UCF. Before the first quarter was even over against Clemson in Week 6, UNC was down 28-3 before the first quarter was even over.
Yes, Belichick has come back from big deficits before—like his team overcoming the 28-3 score in the infamous 2017 Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons. But Clemson's offense had 348 yards of total offense at halftime, whereas UNC had just 64 yards and four total first downs. It's hard to see how the Tar Heels can come back, even with the NFL's greatest head coach of all time on their sideline.
Given that Belichick's losses have seemed to come in blowout fashion, let's take a look at some of the biggest blowouts of his coaching career.
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Belichick's worst losses as head coach
Belichick's first two losses at UNC were pretty bad—a 34-point drubbing by TCU and a 25-point road loss to UCF. In Week 6, Clemson looked to be on its way to delivering another blowout loss to Belichick, leading 35-3 at halftime.
Here are Belichick's worst losses as a head coach by margin of victory:
Season Margin Final score
2023 35 Cowboys 38, Patriots 3
2023 34 Saints 34, Patriots 0
2025 34 TCU 48, North Carolina 14
2003 31 Bills 31, Patriots 0
2021 30 Bills 47, Patriots 17
2020 29 Bills 38, Patriots 9
2014 27 Chiefs 41, Patriots 14
2008 27 Dolphin 38, Patriots 13
1995 27 Oilers 37, Browns 10
Monday's season-opening loss to TCU is just one point shy of Belichick's worst loss as a head coach.
But Belichick's early UNC losses still weren't as bad as some of his last couple when he was still with the New England Patriots. In 2023, he closed out his Patriots tenure with two of the worst losses as a head coach of his career. New England lost 38-3 to the Cowboys before getting shutout by the New Orleans Saints 34-0 one week later.
As you can see, Belichick has only been shutout just a few times in his career, and just four games in his 24-year career with the Patriots were losses of at least 30 points.
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Most points allowed by Bill Belichick-coached team
Here is each 40-point outburst allowed by a Belichick-coached team:
Season Points Opponent
2025 48 TCU
2021 47 Bills
2017 42 Chiefs
1991 42 Redskins
2005 41 Chargers
2012 41 49ers
2014 41 Chiefs
2017 41 Eagles
2005 40 Colts
2018 40 Chiefs
The 48 points that Belichick's defense surrendered in Week 1 to TCU was the most ever by a Belichick-coached team. The Tar Heels entered Saturday's matchup against Clemson ranked 59th overall in total defense, and 58th in scoring defense, giving up 22.9 points per game.
And it's important to note Tom Brady was only under center for one of Belichick's five worst losses as an NFL head coach, and two of his eight worst losses.
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