Which Hoodie Should Bill Belichick Wear in the AFC Championship?

It’s that time of the week again, when I take a look at the history of the game and the opponent and try to figure out what Bill Belichick should wear.

Last week, Belichick went against my prediction, which was admittedly flawed, going with the 2016 Blue Hoodie and he didn’t cut anything off of it. On the season, Belichick was .5-0 in the 2016 Blue Hoodie, wearing it for just the first half of the Week 16 matchup against the Jets.

Should he stick with that Blue Hoodie or change gears in the AFC Championship? And what’s he worn against the Steelers in AFC Championships past? There’s a ton of data to digest, let’s dive in!

BB really screwed things up on me in last year’s AFC Championship because he changed from the Hot Jacket in the first half, to the first-time 2015 Gray Hoodie for the second half. Which one gets the loss? Which one did the team play better under? Important questions that need to be considered.

In the two previous AFC Championship games against the Steelers, BB had a blue windbreaker in 2001 and his classic Gray Reebok Hoodie (uncut) in 2004. Overall he’s 5-1 in blue, 2-1 in cut sleeves vs. Pittsburgh.

Overall in AFC Championship games he’s 3-2 in Blue, 3-3 in Gray (counting ’15 as a loss for both blue and gray).

Another important factor is the weather and with temperatures predicted for the low 40’s it seems like perfect hoodie weather.

The Hoodie Pick

Belichick should stick with the 2016 Blue Hoodie and he shouldn’t cut it. If he wanted to switch over to the Gray 2016 version, which he wore in the first Jets matchup this year, I’d be cool with that too. That would be somewhat of a throwback to the 2004 AFCCG when the Patriots were firing on all cylinders.

Either way, I think the key is not cutting the sleeves and definitely avoiding the Hot Jacket, which had a part in the last two AFC Championship losses in Denver. As long as BB is in a hoodie with sleeves, I like our chances.