Bill Belichick smashed a telephone after getting bad advice on a challenge

• Bill Belichick and the Patriots suffered their worst home loss in 20 years on Monday night against the Bills.
• Belichick never seemed more angry than after getting some bad advice on a challenge from the Patriots staff watching from above.
• After Belichick's challenge lost, he got back on the phone to give a piece of his mind to whoever told him to throw the red flag and then took out his frustrations on a telephone.

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots had a rough night Monday.

The 38-9 defeat they suffered at the hands of the Buffalo Bills was the worst home loss of the Belichick era in New England, and it assured the Patriots they'd finish the season with a losing record for the first time since 2000.

But on a night when nothing went right for the Patriots, nothing seemed to fill Belichick with more rage than a bit of bad advice he got from upstairs regarding a challenge.

In the third quarter with the Patriots already trailing 24-9, Bills tight end Dawson Knox came down with the ball on the sideline. In real time, the play looked close, and Belichick apparently got the tip from whichever Patriots staff member was watching from above for challenge opportunities.

Belichick threw the red flag.

But as replays would show, Knox clearly made the catch in bounds. The challenge failed, and the Patriots were down both a timeout and a challenge for the rest of the game.

—Nick (@Nick_Wojton) December 29, 2020

As the replay was shown on the big screens in the stadium, Belichick was immediately fuming. He grabbed the phone to give some choice words to whoever gave him the order to throw the challenge flag. Rather than hang up at the end of his call, he smashed the phone into a wall.

—Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) December 29, 2020