What do the Patriots want before this season wraps up? Respect, it seems.
New England Patriots legend Tom Brady carried a chip on his shoulder for 20 seasons in Foxborough. He even carried it all the way down to Tampa, Florida, and it fueled him to hoist a seventh Vince Lombardi trophy with the Buccaneers.
A "chip on your shoulder" isn't necessarily a compliment. It describes someone who is resentful and holds a past grievance they should, frankly, get over. However, in the world of sports, it is somewhat more positive, as it concerns an athlete's or an overall team's style of play and what motivates them.
The 2025 New England Patriots have ignored the noise around them all year and just played their game. "They have an easy schedule," "they're fool's gold," and "Drake Maye is a game manager" have all been critiques and forms of shade thrown their way since Mike Vrabel's squad got on a hot streak all the way back in October.
Yet, here they are, defeating top defenses like the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, and now awaiting a powerful Denver Broncos defensive front. If the Patriots were to win on Sunday, they could face a very difficult Seahawks defense in the Super Bowl if things go Seattle’s way this weekend. We shall cross that bridge if we get to it.
Defensively, the chip on the Patriots defenders' shoulders has grown even larger this past week. They know they have a backup quarterback to face in Jarrett Stidham, and they don't care what the Broncos head coach has to say about him. Case in point: what Milton Williams said to the media this week regarding Stidham.
"They didn't like him over, Bo (Nix)," Williams told reporters.
Then came Payton's comments about Broncos fans going to rest in Cancun after the AFC Championship game and getting ready for the Super Bowl. This led Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to have an interesting rebuttal.
"You can rest in Cancun, too," Boutte told reporters in the locker room during media access.
It's clear as day now; the Patriots are tired of the disrespect. They beat Josh Allen once, stunted Baker Mayfield's mid-season MVP surge, dented the Ravens' playoff push in an 11-point comeback, and bulldozed that long list of really bad teams, too, and now they're knocking on the door of the Super Bowl.
They don't want respect like your kid brother who's bothering you during backyard two-hand touch football.
Their plan is to show you that the easy schedule theory is all fun and games until their also highly ranked defense stops every area of your offense.
Then let their potential league MVP quarterback drop a few beautiful touchdown passes on you, even if he's having a bad day.
All of this trickles down from their head coach. He has had a season's worth of bulletin board material to remind his team about in the locker room.
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