[OC] Bill Belichick's Patriots vs. his former teams in the playoffs

A common trope in the NFL is teams with former Patriots coaches under Belichick falling to the Patriots in the playoffs (see Pete Carroll and Bill O'Brien), but is there a similar trend in the opposite direction, with teams Belichick worked for before joining the Patriots knocking him out of contention? To start, we begin with the Colts, where Belichick first entered the league as a Special Assistant in 1975 (in Baltimore) and served for only one season.

#Indianapolis Colts

##Special Assistant, 1975, Baltimore Colts

4-1, 4-0 home, 0-1 away

Belichick’s Patriots have performed exceedingly well against his first team, with wins in ’03, ’04, ’13, and ’14. Their only loss came in the AFCCG in ’06, a close contest that led to Peyton Manning’s first appearance (and win) in the Super Bowl.

#Detroit Lions

##Assistant Special Teams/TE/WR, 1976-1977

0-0

The Detroit Lions have never played in the Super Bowl, so they would have no chance to play against the Patriots.

#Denver Broncos

##Assistant Special Teams/Defensive Assistant, 1978

1-3, 1-0 home, 0-3 away

The New England Patriots have never defeated the Denver Broncos at Mile High in the playoffs, with losses coming in ’05, ’13, and ’15. In 2005, the Broncos went on to lose to the Steelers in the AFCCG, while in 2013 and 2015 Peyton Manning’s defeat of the Pats took him to the Super Bowl (where he was 1-1). The Patriots only won once, in the divisional round against Tebow, in a run leading to Belichick’s second Super Bowl loss with the team to the . . .

#New York Giants

##Special Teams, 1979-1982; Linebackers, 1981-1984; Defensive Coordinator. 1985-1990

0-2, 0-2 neutral site

Bill Belichick’s only two Super Bowl losses as a head coach came to the Giants in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI against Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin.

#Baltimore Ravens

##Head Coach, 1991-1995, Cleveland Browns

2-2, 2-2 home

The Patriots have never faced the Ravens in Baltimore during the playoffs, but they still split the all-time playoff record with a Wild Card loss in ’09 and an AFCCG loss in ’12 that led to Joe Flacco’s only ring. The Patriots’ two wins came in ’11 and ’15, leading to one Super Bowl loss and one AFCCG loss.

#New York Jets

##Assistant Head Coach/Secondary, 1997-1999

1-1, 1-1 home

Much like the Ravens, Belichick has never faced the Jets in New York in the playoffs, also like the Ravens, despite beating up the Jets during the regular season, Belichick splits the all-time playoff record with a win in ’06 and a loss in ’10 to Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan, who went on to lose to the Steelers in the AFCCG.

#Total Record

8-9, 8-3 home, 0-4 away, 0-2 neutral site

In all, Belichick does seem to struggle against his former teams, especially when not at home, where he has not won a single game. His overall record, though, is still very respectable, until you compare it to all other teams in the playoffs, to whom he hasn’t lost a single game, finishing 17-0.