Patriots coach Bill Belichick took his first NFL head coaching job in 1991 and in the 30 years since then, no team had ever done what the Buffalo Bills did on Sunday.
In what was arguably their most impressive offensive performance of the season, the Bills piled up 33 points and most importantly, they didn't punt a single time. That's notable because it made the Bills the first team ever to make it through a game without punting against a team coached by Belichick, according to ESPN.
Over the course of his career, Belichick has been the head coach for 474 games, including the playoffs, and in each one of those games, his opponent punted at least once, but that impressive streak is now over.
Bills punter Matt Haack actually celebrated his no punt game by taking a picture with Josh Allen.
The Bills had a total of nine possessions in their 33-21 win and six of those ended in a score. Of the three that didn't end with points, two of them were planned that way. The Bills had the ball at the end of the half and at the end of the game, and on both possessions, they were trying to run out the clock. The only possession that didn't go Buffalo's way came in the second quarter when a drive ended after a failed fourth-and-goal from the Patriots' 1-yard line.
Belichick's streak actually almost ended earlier this season. In Week 2, the Jets only punted one time in a 25-6 loss to the Patriots. The Jets weren't good in that game, but the reason they almost made it through the loss without punting is because they made a plethora of mistakes, including four interceptions by Zach Wilson. When your quarterback is throwing arm punts, there's no reason for actual punts.
Belichick's streak also almost ended in a 35-29 Week 6 loss to the Cowboys. In that overtime game, the Cowboys only punted once and it didn't come until the second half.
Peyton Manning also came close to ending the streak in both 2005 and 2006 with two games where the Colts only punted once.
Speaking of that Colts team, that was the last time a team won at New England in consecutive seasons before the Bills did it with wins in 2020 and 2021. The Bills 12-point margin of victory also made them the first team to win by double-digits in consecutive seasons at New England since the Broncos did it in 1995 and 1996.
Basically, the Bills made a lot of history against the Patriots and it's history that Belichick probably doesn't want to see repeated.
