The Patriots didn’t only have to grapple with the idea that their 2022-23 season was over after their loss to the Buffalo Bills eliminated them from postseason contention.
They also have to deal with the possibility that two of their central pillars might have played their last games in Patriots uniforms.
Both Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater, who have been in Foxborough for more than two decades combined, could be seen on the CBS broadcast fighting back tears as the seconds ticked toward zero in Buffalo’s 35-23 win over New England as they took in what might be their final moments on an NFL field.
Before ceding the podium to the Patriots greats, center David Andrews wept when asked how much McCourty and Slater meant to him. “A lot” was all he could say.
Similarly, McCourty and Slater fumbled to put their feelings about one another into words themselves.
“I don’t have enough time to answer that,” said Slater of what McCourty meant to him, joking that McCourty would make fun of him for crying at the podium. “No one I’ve ever played with has impacted my life more.”
McCourty agreed, praising the 37-year-old special teams star “not just as a teammate, but someone to look to and to mold my life as I got married and had kids."
Both emptied the tank on Sunday, with McCourty racking up a pass breakup, interception – the 35th of the 35-year-old defensive back’s career – and a fumble recovery and Slater creating a takeaway by pushing a Bills player into a loose punt that New England fell on.
As for what the future holds for them, neither had an answer.
“Just figuring out what makes me happy, what God has planned in my life,” McCourty said of the decision that awaits him. “Obviously I still enjoy playing the game of football, but you can’t play it forever…have to figure out what's best of my wife and kids and not just me."
Slater, who reiterated that he hasn’t decided if he’ll continue playing, simply reflected on a career well-earned.
"I've given it everything I have,” he said. “My dad told me when I was young that if I wanted to play the game there was a certain way to go about it. I tried to make him proud and represent his name the right way, because that's how he did it."
It’s possible no two players have ever represented the Patriots better both on and off the field than he and McCourty. If this really was their final game, they have nothing to be ashamed of.
