Bill Belichick worst losses: Where UNC's blowout loss to TCU ranks among legendary NFL coach's biggest defeats

Bill Belichick tempered expectations entering his first season at North Carolina, but it's hard to believe he anticipated his Tar Heels suffering such an ugly loss in his debut.

TCU throttled North Carolina, scoring 41 consecutive points and jumping out to a pair of 34-point leads in a dominant 48-14 victory. UNC scored a touchdown on its opening drive but was overpowered on both sides of the ball from that point on, with QB Gio Lopez at one point going more than two hours without a completion.

Belichick did plenty of losing in his final two seasons with the Patriots, but he didn't do nearly as much losing during his first two decades in New England. When he did lose, the result was rarely as dramatic as Monday night's margin. 

Here's a look at Belichick's worst losses as a head coach and where UNC's defeat at the hands of TCU ranks among them.

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Bill Belichick worst losses as a head coach

Belichick's worst losses as a head coach came in back-to-back games during his final season with the Patriots, as New England fell 38-3 to the Cowboys before suffering a 34-0 drubbing at the hands of the Saints one week later.

Here are Belichick's worst losses as a head coach by margin of victory:

Monday's season-opening loss to TCU is just one point shy of Belichick's worst loss as a head coach. At 34 points, the defeat matched Belichick's 34-0 loss to the Saints in 2023 but did not eclipse the 35-point drubbing by the Cowboys from the same season.

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Belichick's worst loss with Tom Brady came in 2003, when the Patriots lost their season opener to the Bills by a score of 31-0. Brady threw four interceptions in the defeat. 

Between his stop in Cleveland and his 24 seasons in New England, Belichick suffered only four losses of at least 30 points. Brady was only under center for one of his five worst losses as an NFL head coach and two of his eight worst losses. 

48 points, meanwhile, are the most a Belichick-coached team has ever allowed in a game. The loss was a rude awakening for Belichick, who stunned the football world when he decided to try his hand at the collegiate level, but the Tar Heels will have a chance to get back on track against Charlotte and FCS Richmond in their next two games. 

Most points allowed by Bill Belichick-coached team

Belichick allowed 40 points in a game nine times during his career as an NFL head coach, but TCU's 48 points exceeded the previous high water mark of 47 scored by the Bills in Belichick's final playoff game with the Patriots. Here is each 40-point outburst allowed by a Belichick-coached team: