Obviously gone all out to win the game. The #1 seed was on the line. BB already screwed up the Philadelphia and NYJ games, which made week 17 a must win to secure the #1 seed. The game plan was a complete joke, they lost the game, and it cost them another Super Bowl. With a win in week 17, Peyton Manning on fumes would have had to come to Gillette... no way the Patriots lose that game. Then they would have faced Cam Newton in the SB where he was completely overwhelmed with the gravity of the moment and folded like a cheap suit.
Then there's the SB 52 debacle. Seriously, the Patriots should have won 5 SBs in a row 2014-2018.
Saying "should have won" is really silly. Saying "could have won" is more accurate and fair.
2014 - Great comeback against Baltimore, where the coaching staff did amazing things to win that game, then went on to beat the juggernaut Seahawks in what was then the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. Amazing season.
2015 - That team was beat up beyond belief, and it's amazing they got as far as they did. They still could have beaten Denver, and I'm with you - I hated how they handled the Miami game. But it's a far cry from saying they *should* have won the SB that year. I can definitely see a path to the SB title that year though, no doubt.
2016 - Dominant team that dug a HUGE hole in the SB, in part due to Blount's fumble and Brady's pick six. The coaching was excellent in that game, and the mistakes were on the players. But then they dug out of it and made the historic comeback. Thankfully, the Pats got the ball first in overtime because I'm not sure Atlanta wouldn't have scored there. Definitely a game they COULD have lost, pretty easily actually. The Pats were getting absolutely blown out in that one and Atlanta made some brain-dead mistakes to allow New England back into it.
2017 - The Pats got fortunate to make it to the Super Bowl. Brady's hand was like Schilling's ankle - radical, emergency, experimental surgery just before the game, and it was unclear that he'd even play in the AFCCG. They pulled out an amazing win in that one, and then in the Super Bowl they lost to an Eagles team that pulled out all the stops. The only blame I'll give the coaching staff in that one was the decision to sit Butler, but even then, you never know how it's going to go. Put it in the "could have", not "should have" won category.
2018 - Somehow beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead. That game was bonkers, and the Pats easily could have lost that one. Again, fortunate to get the ball first in overtime. Lucky coin flip. Then the win against the Rams was an absolute coaching clinic put on by BB. He did far better in that game than Brady did. Far better.
So yeah, they COULD have won five in a row, if a bunch of things had gone right. Of course, they easily could have only gone to one Super Bowl during that stretch (fortunate to beat Baltimore at home in the divisional round, fortunate to beat Jacksonville with Brady's hand surgically repaired - plus a beneficial call on a turnover, and fortunate to beat KC in the AFCCG), and in two of those Super Bowls, they were pretty fortunate to win (Sea/Atl). So it's entirely possible that they could have gone to just one Super Bowl during that time, and came away with zero Lombardis.
So you can play that game both ways. The fact is that NE went to 5 straight AFCCGS in that stretch, went to 4 Super Bowls, and won 3 of them. That's an amazing, astounding, incredible run that reflects very VERY well on Bill Belichick. (and Brady, and the rest of the team too, obviously)