Patriots News 01-25, Players To Watch Against The Broncos
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Good morning. Here is your Patriots news, 01-25, and NFL notes this week. The NFL is now down to the Final Four. The Patriots beat the Texans last week and play the Broncos this afternoon with a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
The Broncos will be without Bo Nix and RB J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins was back at practice this week after a Lisfranc injury in Week 10, but was ruled out on Friday. However, starting center Luke Wattenberg should be back after full participation at practice this week.
The weather is supposed to be very cold today, with temperatures around 20 degrees at kickoff and the possibility of some snow.
Harold Landry: The Patriots’ edge rusher was not at practice all week and is out today against the Broncos. It is a big blow for the defense; however, he’s been dealing with this knee issue for several weeks and only played 11 snaps last week against the Texans.
With Landry out, the Patriots will likely lean heavily on Anfernee Jennings and Elijah Ponder on the edge again opposite K’Lavon Chaisson.
Carlton Davis: Some good news for the Patriots’ defense this week is that he will be active for the game after passing concussion protocol.
Davis was outstanding last week and had two impressive interceptions against the Texans in the divisional round. Facing Denver’s talented group of receivers, the Patriots need Davis in the lineup opposite Christian Gonzalez.
Mack Hollins: The other good news is that it appears Hollins will be back in the lineup. He’s been on IR with an abdominal injury, but returned to practice and was a full go on Friday.
If the Patriots activate him off of IR, they’ll have to make a corresponding move with the roster to stay with the 53-man limit. Terrell Jennings and Joshua Farmer are also on the list of players who are eligible to return.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Mike, Derek, and I recorded our post-game podcast after the Texans game on Sunday night. The three of us also did our preview podcast for the Denver game on Thursday.
We’ll do a post-game podcast late Sunday night, around 10:00 p.m.
Please check it out. And be sure to like, share, and leave us a review.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
This will be displayed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots and Broncos meet for the chance to advance to Super Bowl LX. Denver hasn’t been a friendly place for the Patriots, who, it seems, never bring their “A-Game” there. The Patriots are looking for their first playoff win in Denver (0-4).
However, the Patriots are undefeated on the road this season (8-0) and have played better defense away from home. So, one of those trends is going to end today.
Of course, the “X” Factor today is Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham. He hasn’t taken an actual snap in a regular-season game since 2023. Since the tape on him is minimal from Denver, how the Broncos decide to use him is a complete unknown. (Bob Dylan quote)
But from a Patriots’ perspective, here are the players to watch, and they must perform if the team is going to move on to the Super Bowl.
Drake Maye: Maye is facing another outstanding defense that is excellent at scheming up pressure (68 sacks). Maye has to be better at protecting the football this week. While some of that is tied to pass protection, Maye has to do a much better job of holding onto the ball.
The flip side of that, however, is that Maye has to continue taking shots down the field, against a secondary that doesn’t give up much in the passing game. Despite getting sacked five times last week, Maye tossed three outstanding touchdown throws against the Houston secondary.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Maye take off more this week in scrambles against the Broncos’ front seven.
Will Campbell: The Patriots’ left tackle has another tough matchup against the Broncos’ best pass rusher, Nik Bonitt,o who has 14 sacks. Bonitto is a bit smaller at 240 but has outstanding speed off the snap.
Campbell will have to match his speed on the edge while providing a stout presence in the running game.
Marcus Jones: The Patriots’ slot corner will be matched up with the speedy Marvin Mims, who had 93 yards and a touchdown last week. Mims had only 322 yards during the regular-season but broke out against the Bills.
Jones will also be looked to in the return game this week. He is a dangerous punt returner, and in what appears on paper to be a defensive game, getting a boost from the return game is imperative.
Kayshon Boutte: The Patriots’ wide receiver had a big game and arguably one of the best catches in this year’s playoffs with a gorgeous one-handed 32-yard touchdown reception against the Texans last week.
He’ll be going against Riley Moss this week. The Patriots will be looking for chunk plays against Moss, the most targeted corner in the league. He was flagged 12 times for DPI and allowed nine of 28 deep passes this season.
The NFL is down to the Final Four. The AFC features the #1 and the #2 seeds.
The NFC has the #1 seed facing the team that most of the “experts” had down as the best team in the league for much of the season.
Conference Championship Games:
New England over Denver
Seattle over LA Rams
Last Week 3—1
2025 Season 181—90—1
2024 Season 204—68
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
Mike Vrabel was asked, “How do you get the players to drown out the noise? Do you advise them to stay off their phones, is there any special –”
“Okay, yeah, try that, yeah. Stay off their phones. Yeah, I’ll try that, see if that works.
“No, we just try to stay as consistent as possible. I think from the time that we started this thing up until now, we try to stay as consistent as possible, continue to coach the actions, not the results, focus on the things that we need to do to win, the environment, making sure that our operation is good, the defense is as prepared as possible for anything that could happen, and the special teams and their role in the game – that’s about all you can do.
“I’ll try to stay off your phone thing, see if that works.”
Mike Vrabel was asked “From a self-scouting lens, do you have to be mindful of the disguises you pair with certain coverages so those don’t get repetitive?”
“I think what you have to be careful of is that you can disguise and end up being where you need to be for your job. I think that’s most important. I think sometimes you can go overboard and try to disguise, and then not be able to be where you’re supposed to be to do your job. So, I think that’s the most important thing.”
Drake Maye was asked, “Do you feel like you guys have been through a lot on the road together? Do you feel like there are any specific environments that have kind of prepared you to go into a place as hostile as Denver? Thinking, specifically, Buffalo on Sunday night?about trying to stop turnovers from happening.”
“Yeah, I think both the Sunday night ones, both Buffalo and Baltimore. Those are two teams in the AFC with good fan bases, big-time teams that have done well in the playoffs in recent years with big-time players and great coaches, and I think that environment helped us.
“The Buffalo game was tight, it was ugly in the first half, and the second half was cool, was special. We had to go on a game-winning drive, and then the same deal in Baltimore.
“We were down early, got down in the second half, and had to storm back. So, we’ve been on the road, up the whole game; we’ve had times when we had to battle.
“So, what Coach [Mike] Vrabel has been saying is we’ve seen a lot of things this year, a lot of different scenarios, a lot of different game situations, and I think we’re prepared for a lot. Looking forward to what this team’s going to show on Sunday.”
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
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No matter the outcome, congratulations Patriots on a great season. 16-3 and still playing. AFC east championship is in the bank. Over exceeded from many angles.