"But the way this season has unfolded, with New England going from worst-to-first in the AFC East and winning 14 regular-season games before advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs, was nearly impossible to predict. This was a team that won four games a year ago. Six wins would have been an improvement. Eight wins would have been twice as good. Not long ago, a 10-win prediction seemed like it would have been pushing it."
""I think, from my vantage point, obviously we've got a different scope of things," Diggs said. "But, y'all are in the media. You see it each and every day. I don't think nobody really liked us, nobody really believed in us." "Maybe we were a young team," Diggs added. "We've got a young quarterback and throughout the season, we just grew and we kind of grew together. As we've had this success, everybody's been humbled, everybody's been unselfish, and everybody wants to win.""
New England climbed from a four-win team last season to a 14-regular-season-win, No. 2 AFC seed and one of five remaining AFC playoff teams. The turnaround included a worst-to-first finish in the AFC East and an unexpected run to the divisional round. The Patriots sit two wins away from a potential Super Bowl appearance and are ranked behind only top-seeded Denver in the AFC. Players emphasize an underdog chip and external doubt fueling their effort. Stefon Diggs described media skepticism and said the team grew together around a young quarterback. Defensive tackle Milton Williams said he thrives when people doubt him. Coach Mike Vrabel delivered a message to Williams and Christian.
Read at Boston.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]