FOXBOROUGH - On Wednesday, Sean Payton was asked if he had a message for Broncos fans in advance of Sunday’s AFC Championship game.
“Well, they’re going to have plenty of rest after this one,” Payton said. “Two weeks.”
The inference is that Denver would be playing in the Super Bowl, which happens to be two weeks from this Sunday in Santa Clara, California, at Levi's Stadium (home of the 49ers).
Most Patriot players didn’t take the cheese when that quote was tossed back at them. They shouldn’t, at least not publicly. It was innocuous at best. At worst, it was Payton being Payton, which is to say, confident bordering on cocky.
However, Kayshon Boutte had a little fun with that statement, telling reporters he hadn’t heard it, but then adding, with a smile, “You can rest in Cancun, too. At the end of the day, it is what it is.”
If the Denver reporters are paying attention, I’m sure they’ll run that back to the Broncos players later today, and who knows what words might get tossed back Boutte’s way. Not that it should make a bit of difference in who wins or who loses...
'SMART. ACCURATE'
Yesterday, I wrote about Jarrett Stidham, who has been inserted into the biggest game of his life after the Bo Nix season-ending ankle surgery. Stidham hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular season game for over two years, but has the trust of Payton, who has signed him to a pair of contracts over the last three seasons, totaling in excess of $17 million dollars.
Before Payton, Josh McDaniels had eyes for Stidham. He was the offensive coordinator here in New England when Stidham was selected in the fourth round, and later, in one of his first acts as head coach of the Raiders, swung a deal with New England for the quarterback. What did McDaniels like about the man that Denver now needs to deliver in a big way on Sunday?
“Smart. Accurate, Great human being. Worked hard. Great teammate,” McDaniels recalled on Thursday afternoon. “Just hasn't had an opportunity, you know, based on the situations and those kinds of things. I just enjoyed working with him. Enjoyed my time with him, and I’m sure he'll be ready to go this week, for sure.”
The Pats have wisely tapped into McDaniels' knowledge of Stidham this week, but it’s been a full three years since he last coached him, during which the veteran backup has become immersed in the Payton offense. Payton continues to pump Stidham’s tires, as you would expect, and has referenced a number of situations in which the backup delivered - from Teddy Bridgewater when Payton was with the Saints, to Davis Mills this year (3-0 for the Texans). For what it’s worth, those were regular-season performances.
Payton also brought up former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who famously beat the Pats in the 2017 Super Bowl. But Foles had six weeks of practice and four starts before he took the snaps in the NFC Championship game. Stidham doesn’t get that same kind of runway. He has a grand total of six days before making his first start since the 2023-24 season.
That was January 7th, 2024, to be exact, in a 27-14 loss to the Raiders. Stidham threw for 272 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, while also taking five sacks. The now 29-year-old does have one thing on his resume that Pats starter Drake Maye doesn’t: a 300+ yard passing game with 3 touchdowns. He did that in 2022 for McDaniels when the Raiders lost in overtime to the 49ers, 37-34.
MACK IS BACK IN TOWN
When the Patriots went to the practice field Thursday afternoon, Mack Hollins was dressed and ready to go. That means the team has started its clock on a return-to-play for the wide receiver after its four-week stint on injured reserve (abdomen).
The Pats have had to use multiple bodies and personnel to try to recreate what Hollins gave them, especially in the run game, where he essentially acted as a physical move tight end. But he also became a trusted receiver for Maye as the season progressed, and his size and strength at the top of routes became a matchup that the Pats exploited. Hollins had 35 of his 46 receptions this season after week seven, including a 6-catch, 109-yard gem at Tampa Bay and a 7-for-69 line in Baltimore (which is when he got hurt).
“Oh, shit, we've all been waiting for Mack," Stefon Diggs told us earlier this week. “You know, it's been something that we talked about almost every other day. Everybody's happy to see Mack. Mack has that infectious energy. He approaches the game the right way. We miss him. That's our brother.
“If we get him back, it'd be great. If we don't, those guys gonna continue to have to step up. I think the guys have stepped up and done a great job, but if we doget him back, we are gonna be excited. We gonna throw a party.”
We’ll know more about Hollins’ status on Friday when Vrabel speaks for the final time this week.
CAMPBELL STAYS IN SPOTLIGHT
After a mostly solid rookie season, Will Campbell has had his issues here in the postseason, surrendering multiple sacks, including strip-sacks, and a handful of pressures on his quarterback, Drake Maye. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. In our insider profiles before each of these last two games, coaches around the league made it clear that both the Chargers' stable of pass rushers and what the Texans had in Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter would be problematic for Campbell. They were right.
“It's never a straight line. You know what I mean?” McDaniels said when I asked about Campbell’s recent struggles. “I think Will - we have a lot of young players that are playing, and they're playing a lot. I think there's a lot that's been learned over the last two games by a lot of people, and that's a good thing. You're never going to go into the playoffs as a young player and just dominate your match-up the entire time. That’s really difficult to imagine.
“There's going to be some ups and downs in the game that you have to persevere through, and that's the nature of the National Football League and the postseason. So I'm encouraged by the way all of our guys have taken these experiences and tried to benefit from them and improve so that we might be able to play better this week and beyond. So encouraged. Love the way he's responded. And again, there's always going to be some plays that you wish you did a little bit better here and there, but that's across the board. I'm excited to watch him play on Sunday.”
It doesn’t get any easier for Campbell this week. Denver’s Nik Bonitto, whom he’ll see quite a bit of, is bendy and explosive. He has 14 sacks and generated 80 pressures this year, 4th highest in the league.
“He’s a good player,” Campbell said. “They’ve got a bunch of good players across the front, on the back end, linebackers. It’s a good defense... Bonitto is a talented player. They’ve got talented players up front. They’ve created a lot of chaos for teams this season.”
AND FINALLY
Carlton Davis remained in a red, non-contact jersey for Thursday's practice. He is making his way through the concussion protocol after being removed from Sunday's win over the Texans in the 4th quarter.