MINNEAPOLIS — The foundation that the Patriots dynasty was built on looked shaky in the aftermath of Super Bowl LII.
New England had a chance to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles before it crumbled away in a heartbreaking 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. Unlike the two Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants in 2008 and 2012, this felt different.
For the first time in a long time, people were questioning a Bill Belichick decision — and this one looked like it might have cost the Patriots a championship.
In the hours after Nick Foles ripped apart the Patriots secondary, one big question rippled through Patriots Nation. Why didn't cornerback Malcolm Butler play a single defensive snap?
A day later, in the wake of heavy criticism, Belichick gave few answers.
“I respect Malcolm's competitiveness,” Belichick said during a conference call on Monday. “I'm sure he felt he could've helped. I'm sure the players felt the same way. In the end we have to make the decisions that we feel are best for the football team. That’s what we did. That’s what I did.”
The question as to why Belichick didn’t play one of his best cornerbacks was on everyone’s mind, including former players, in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss. Ty Law tweeted: “We need to get to bottom of this Malcolm Butler situation, I’m baffled about this one. We needed that man on the field.”
Former Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner ripped Belichick in a series of Instagram posts. One depicts Butler crying during the national anthem and Browner called the Patriots locker room “divided.” He added “you were hurt/burnt where he was needed tonight.. #foolishpride.” The post was liked by current Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower, former Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins and former Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard.
On Sunday, Butler played one special-teams snap — on the punt coverage team — in the second quarter. Eric Rowe started at cornerback. Rowe gave up a long touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery in the first quarter. The Patriots also used three safeties for most of the game, but it was curious to see Jordan Richards on the field over Butler. Richards, who played 16 defensive snaps, allowed a 55-yard pass play to Eagles running back Corey Clement.
In situations when the Patriots used a third cornerback, they used special-teamer Johnson Bademosi, who played 11 defensive snaps. On Bademosi’s first snap, he gave up a catch and missed a tackle on third down.
When asked why he played Bademosi over Butler, Belichick responded, “He practiced it the most.”
Butler was listed as a full practice participant on Friday and practiced with the Patriots all week after arriving late to Minnesota due to an illness.
The decision to not play Butler was odd considering that he led the Patriots in defensive snaps (1,037), playing 97.8 percent of the plays, this season. Butler also played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in the playoff wins over the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Patriots defense had one of the worst performances in Super Bowl, and Patriots, history. The 538 yards allowed were the most given up by a Patriots team coached by Belichick. Meanwhile, the 33 points that the offense scored is the most by a losing Super Bowl team.
Although Belichick said that he put the players out on the field that gave his team the best chance to win, the question over Butler not playing remains. Asked again if he could give any clarity to the situation, Belichick wouldn’t divulge his thinking.
"I appreciate the question, but it would be a much longer discussion,” the coach said. “There are a lot of things that go into that. In the end, the final decision is what I said it was."