2026-01-25
Perry: Pats were ‘better-prepared and better-coached team' vs. Broncos
Before the AFC Championship Game, Mike Vrabel emphasized the importance of taking care of the football in Denver. The New England Patriots did just that on Sunday, and now they’re headed to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX.The Patriots defeated the Broncos 10-7 in a tense, snowy showdown between the top two teams in the conference. It wasn’t pretty, but New England’s two takeaways and zero turnovers were the difference in the low-scoring affair.Mike Vrabel’s group was more disciplined than Sean Payton’s in adverse conditions. If you ask Patriots Insider Phil Perry, that was the big takeaway from the Patriots’ first AFC Championship Game win since the 2018 season.“They handled the snow, they handled Jarrett Stidham, and they made fewer mistakes,” Perry said. “To me, this was about the Patriots understanding what kind of game that they were in and not losing it. They made fewer mistakes than the Denver Broncos did.“It certainly was not perfect, but this was a well-coached team on the road. They’re now 9-0 on the season on the road. They go in the toughest environment yet, and they’re going to the Super Bowl because they were the better prepared and better coached football team today.”MORE PATRIOTSNew England Patriots7 hours agoPatriots-Broncos recap: Pats outlast Denver in the snow to earn Super Bowl tripPatriots Pregame Live5 hours agoCould McDaniels leave Pats for Bills HC job? Breer weighs inThe Quick Snap PodcastJan 21Milton Williams opens up about Pats' quick turnaround, defense's disrespectVrabel led the Patriots to a 14-3 record en route to a Super Bowl appearance in his first season as head coach. It has been a miraculous bounce-back campaign after 4-13 finishes in 2023 and 2024. After seconding Perry’s point, Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran called the 2025 Patriots’ run “one of the great turnarounds in the history of the NFL.Former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson came away from Sunday’s win impressed with how Vrabel’s group handled adversity in Denver.“I loved it. It was a gutsy performance. Excellent, excellent job,” Johnson said. “They had a lot going against them, the Patriots did. They had a shorter week, they had to travel, they had the conditions in that altitude, and they didn’t have the bye week like the Broncos did.“So, a lot of things that favored the Broncos in this game, but they went in there and it was a gutsy performance.”The Patriots will meet either the Los Angeles Rams or Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara for a chance to bring a seventh Lombardi Trophy to Foxboro. Super Bowl LX is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET.Watch Perry, Curran, and Johnson’s full reaction to the Patriots’ AFC Championship win below:This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
