Patriots look ahead to AFC title game in Denver: ‘The environment will be a lot’

January 18, 2026

Foxboro, MA - New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas celebrates his touchdown with Hunter Henry during the first quarter of the Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas celebrates his touchdown with Hunter Henry during the first quarter of the Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Andrew Callahan
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

FOXBORO — In his post-game press conference Sunday, it took Mike Vrabel less than a minute to look past the Patriots’ divisional-round win over the Texans.

“I’m excited for these guys, but also, they’re not satisfied. And I can tell that,” Vrabel said. “It wasn’t pretty.”

Several Patriots expressed a similar sentiment at the podium, including defensive captain Robert Spillane, who called the season “a work in progress.”

“We’re not finished,” Spillane said.

Drake Maye suggested playing away from Foxboro for the first time in a month is driving the team’s attitude of moving on almost immediately from Sunday’s win.

The Pats will kick off the AFC Championship Game at 3 p.m. in Denver next Sunday.

“I think not satisfied means we’re back on the road,” Maye said. “Back on the road in an AFC Championship game, that speaks for itself.”

The Patriots went undefeated on the road during the regular season. Veteran tight end Hunter Henry, who started his career visiting Denver as a divisional opponent with the Chargers, confirmed the atmosphere will be a challenge between a raucous home crowd and playing in thin air at elevation.

“It’s a challenge, man, when that place is rolling,” Henry said. “It’s going to be extremely loud. I know it’ll be an environment. They’ll be ready to go, the elevation can be an issue. But staying hydrated, moving around a lot, we’ll be all right in a way. But I know the environment will be a lot.”

More in New England Patriots

 

Search

RECENT PRESS RELEASES

Go to Top