Veteran Patriots defensive lineman Milton Williams has admitted that the record the team posted this year, 14-3 after a 4-13 showing a year ago, came as a surprise to him. He had faith that the franchise would turn things around, and signed a four-year, $104 million contract last offseason as a sign of that faith. But to turn it around in Year 1? That caught him by surprise.
But here are the Patriots, after downing the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game in Denver in a defensive dogfight, 10-7, standing as the first team in the history of the NFL to go to the Super Bowl after a 13-loss season. The path has been odd, no doubt. The Patriots had a notably soft schedule throughout the regular season, thanks to a weak AFC East and a last-place batch of opponents based off last year’s record.
And in the playoffs, the offense and quarterback Drake Maye–a regular-season MVP candidate–have been brutal, now scoring just 54 points in three games, including a touchdown on Sunday that was gifted by a forced fumble from the defense.
Milton Williams: ‘Nobody Believed in Us’
But no matter. Much can be said about the Patriots road to the Super Bowl. Still, the sentence ends in the same place that this team’s season will end: the Super Bowl, and that’s what really matters.
Williams felt it was important to point that out on Sunday. he said he fully does not expect the Patriots to be much “credit” for their run, despite the fact that they’re the AFC champs.
“We got a lot of guys who have been counted out. Nobody believed in us,” Williams said. “They probably gonna say it’s just how they (the Broncos) played, we ain’t did nothing. It was just what they did. But like I said, we got one more game, we’ll go out and take care of business. See if we get some credit then.
“I heard that all week. I don’t care about numbers, and all that. Whatever. We gotta go out there, we gotta play. All that stuff don’t matter when you get between them lines. We’ll see what’s gonna happen.”
GettyChristian Gonzalez #0 of the New England Patriots intercepts a pass from Jarrett Stidham #8 of the Denver Broncos
Patriots Heroes Include Christian Gonzalez, Christian Ellis
Williams pointed out that there were a number of Patriots who deserved credit for the win on Sunday, and that does include Maye–despite going 10-for-21 passing for 86 yards and no touchdowns, while taking five sacks. Maye ran 10 times for 65 yards in the game, including the Patriots’ lone TD. He also beat linebacker Jonah Elliss to the edge on a third-down run with 1:57 to play, a run that was good enough for a first down to essentially seal the win.
But the defense had heroes. Christian Gonzalez, the 2024 All-Pro cornerback, notched an interception with 2:18 to play in the game to thwart a Denver comeback attempt. Christian Ellis (Jonah’s brother) had a strip sack of Jarrett Stidham, too, in the second quarter that not only set up the Maye TD by changed the whole momentum of the game.
Milton Williams Shouts Out Leonard Taylor
And Williams pointed out Leonard Taylor III, a practice squad signing in October who had one of the biggest plays of the game when he got a hand up and blocked Will Lutz’s 45-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter to maintain the New England lead.
“LT, No. 93, L.T. made a huge play,” Williams said. “He came in here and just worked, busted his butt everyday. Learning, learning our defense. I told him, man, these are the games where people want to figure out who you are. Come out here, make some plays, and they’re gonna know who you are. He went out there and made a big play for us, blocked the kick and gave us the opportunity to win the game.”
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