On Sunday, the Patriots (14-3) did what good teams do.
They took multiple body blows from a really strong opponent in the Houston Texans (12-5) - sporting a historically great defense - and yet did what they had to do on both sides of the football to come away with a convincing 28-16 victory.
That win in the AFC Divisional Round advances New England to the AFC Championship next Sunday in Denver, where they’ll take on a Broncos team (14-3) who will be without their starting quarterback Bo Nix for the remainder of the season.
With their second-year quarterback breaking a bone in his right ankle in the waning moments of their divisional round game against Buffalo (12-5), former Patriots Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass in a game since 2023, will be their man under center moving forward.
The Patriots have an incredible opportunity in front of them to advance to their 12th Super Bowl in franchise history on Sunday - their 11th with Robert Kraft as owner and their 10th this millennium.
To be in this position after winning 8 games combined over the last two seasons is surprising by most measures. But for head coach Mike Vrabel, it isn’t.
“Can you believe you're here?” WEEI’s Chris Curtis asked Vrabel on Monday’s edition of The Greg Hill Show. “Given where you were, where you started, your introductory press conference last January, all the games and all the practices in between, that you are one win away from the Super Bowl?”
“You know - I joke about this, but probably, it's serious,” said Vrabel. “With no expectations, you can't be disappointed. So I just try to come to work each day and figure out what it is that we have to do.
“And if we're getting ready for games, then I'm going to try to get everybody prepared and try to have a plan. And then if we're not, then we'll figure out what part of the offseason that we're in. So, I just haven't gotten caught up into it too much. Just want to try to be great for everybody here.”
With the Broncos down to their second string QB, the Patriots are a heavy road favorite as championship games typically go.
As of publishing, New England is a 5.5-point favorite at FanDuel (-112) and BetMGM (-115). On the moneyline, FanDuel has them at -255 while BetMGM has them at -275. Both books have the total set at 40.5 - by comparison, the NFC Championship Game between the Rams (12-5) and Seahawks (14.3) is up at 47.5, as both of those teams have their starting quarterbacks in the lineup.
The presence of Stidham in this game for Denver changes everything about what this game is for the 2025 Patriots. What was once going to be their toughest test of the season has now almost taken on the shape of a trap game, with the former fourth round pick by Bill Belichick standing in their way of an appearance in Super Bowl LX.
Vrabel may not have had expectations coming into the 2025 season, but he certainly should now.
The Patriots should beat Stidham in Denver.
The expectation needs to be a trip to the Bay Area for football’s biggest stage on February 8.
Anything less than that, at this point, would be a failure.
Expectations can always change. And after Saturday night in Denver, that’s exactly what happened for Vrabel’s group.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.