Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on the New England sideline. Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

Patriots' Bill Belichick betting favorite to win coach of year

The New England Patriots improved to 9-4 with Monday's impressive 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills on a night that saw rookie quarterback Mac Jones complete only two of three passes in windy conditions. 

That result has bettors shifting course. 

According to David Purdum of ESPN, Bill Belichick of the Patriots is now the betting favorite to win the Associated Press' Coach of the Year award. Purdum adds Belichick was listed at 40-1 to earn that honor when the Patriots sat at 1-3 following a loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 3. 

Kliff Kingsbury of the 10-2 Arizona Cardinals was the previous favorite. Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, and Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor follow Kingsbury on the list of odds to win the award. 

The Patriots have notched seven straight victories ahead of their bye, and Jones is the uncrowned Rookie of the Year as of the first full week of December. Per ESPN stats, the 23-year-old is 12th in the NFL among eligible quarterbacks with a 97.0 passer rating, 14th with a 51.4 total QBR, and 13th with 2,869 passing yards. He's matched 16 touchdown passes with eight interceptions.  

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