The New England Patriots will be in an unfamiliar position over the next two games, as they face teams battling to displace them as champions of the AFC East.

Since the 2002 realignment, the Patriots have won the division in 16 of the past 18 seasons.

However, they will not be celebrating a division title in 2020, after results in Week 14, which included a Patriots defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, left them four games back of the division-leading Buffalo Bills with three games to go.

New England face the Miami Dolphins, who are still in the hunt at 8-5, on Sunday before taking on the 10-3 Bills. One of those teams will dethrone them.

In a loaded AFC, a playoff berth as a Wild Card also seems unlikely even if the Patriots win all three of their remaining games to get to 9-7.

Their drop-off in 2020 has come despite New England landing former league MVP Cam Newton as the successor to Tom Brady at quarterback.

Newton has failed to recapture the form of that magical 2015 season and is a free agent in the offseason.

That combination of factors begs the question - what should the Patriots do at quarterback in 2021?

An unusual piece of history

The fact Patriots head coach Bill Belichick felt compelled to sign Newton is proof enough that he does not believe 2019 fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham can be the long-term answer at quarterback.

And it is highly debatable whether Newton can be considered the solution after 12 games of evidence.

Newton has completed 66.1 per cent of his passes for 2,172 and has five touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

The advanced metrics reflect a season defined by inaccuracy for Newton who, according to the NFL's NextGen Stats, has a completion percentage above expectation of minus 1.7, with their numbers indicating he should have completed 67.8 per cent of his passes.

He has been more effective on the ground, rushing for 451 yards and 11 touchdowns, putting him on pace for a slice of NFL history.

Per Stats Perform data, there have been 1,292 player seasons with 300 pass attempts and no player has been level in rushing touchdowns and passing touchdowns.

Barring a significant turnaround in the last three weeks, Newton - who has 301 pass attempts so far - will finish with more scores on the ground than through the air.

The unusual disparity indicates that the Patriots have done an excellent job of building around Newton's running abilities but do not have the playmakers for him to excel as a passer.

There is an argument, therefore, for the Patriots re-signing Newton and using free agency and the draft to invest in pass-catching options who can improve the offense.

However, using premium picks on wide receivers has historically not gone well for Belichick.

Belichick's blind spot

Belichick is unquestionably one of the greatest evaluators of talent to ever grace the NFL but receiver has long since been a blind spot for him.

Indeed, since he took over as head coach in 2000, the Patriots have picked seven receivers in the first three rounds of the draft. None have registered a 1,000-yard season.

Spelling it out in those terms is slightly unfair on Deion Branch, who had a 998-yard season in 2005 and had 4,297 yards and 24 touchdowns in seven years with New England.

However, he is the only one of that group to put together a 40-catch season, though much-maligned 2019 first-round pick N'Keal Harry could join him this year. Harry has 29 catches in 2020.

Belichick's success story in terms of drafting receivers is Julian Edelman, a seventh-round pick in 2009 who has three 1,000-yard seasons and two with 100 receptions.

Edelman has been pivotal to the second half of the Patriots dynasty - winning three Super Bowl rings - but is on the downswing of his career.

The Patriots clearly need an infusion of talent at receiver, yet there is a stronger case for letting Newton depart and finding a new quarterback who can elevate those around him.

Appealing alternatives

Even with an anticipated drop in the salary cap to an estimated $175million, the Patriots are still expected to have around $68m of cap space with which to work.

Guard Joe Thuney is a candidate to be re-signed to a lucrative extension but New England would theoretically still be able to ink Newton, who will likely not command a top quarterback contract in the $30m a year region, to a deal even after handing new contracts to other players.

But the debate is whether signing Newton to a long-term deal would be palatable for Belichick and the Patriots when they have the flexibility to explore other options.

The Patriots are, as it stands, slated to pick in the middle of the first round, likely putting quarterbacks such as Trey Lance and Zach Wilson out of reach.

But more defeats are anticipated for New England come the end of the season, perhaps putting them in striking distance to select a signal-caller who will be the priority for quarterback-needy teams once Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are off the board.

New England could also use their first-round pick in a trade for a quarterback who will come at a more expensive price but who will outperform Newton.

Detroit Lions star Matthew Stafford, who is eighth in the league in yards per game (270.9) and 11th in adjusted yards per attempt (7.7), stands out as an obvious candidate having thrown 22 touchdowns to nine interceptions this year.

The Patriots also have the option of trading back in the draft for more picks and still landing an intriguing quarterback. Mac Jones, in the running for the coveted Heisman Trophy, would come with the seal of approval of Alabama head coach and former Belichick assistant Nick Saban.

Having a quarterback on a cheap rookie contract who can leave the Patriots with more money to spend elsewhere or being more aggressive and acquiring a veteran like Stafford each stand as more appealing paths for New England after Newton's uneven season.

The marriage of Belichick and Newton appeared an intriguing one and there have been flashes of the potential for it to yield long-term success.

But those glimpses have been overshadowed by long stretches of mediocrity and the best route to Belichick establishing another reign of dominance over the AFC East looks to be to find an alternative at the game's most important position.