(On what his three-touchdown performance felt like)
“It was a stunning crowd for sure. I’m thankful to be able to come out with a win, of course. Of course, I have to give the Glory to God, and like I said in an interview I was doing earlier, I’m so weak without Jesus. He truly is my strength, I have to give all the credit to him. The guys up front, they make our job easier, they make my job easier. There were a couple times when I thought I was down, and those guys are coming to push the pile and getting me into the endzone. Those guys work so hard.”
(On progress over the last few weeks)
“It’s a journey, the NFL comes with a lot of highs and lows. I think the biggest thing is preparation going into the week and with the reps that we have, just trying my best to take advantage of them. Continuing to try and grow and get better as a player. My running backs coach does a good job of pushing us, Coach Vrabel does a good job of pushing everyone. I think preparation is key.”
(On being versatile as a running back)
“I always try to work on different aspects of my game, when running the ball, when I’m blocking, running out of the backfield, whatever it is. I’m always studying other guys as well, other backs in the league, just trying to pick things from their game. I’m always trying to learn and grow as a player.”
(On TreVeyon Henderson being pushed into the end zone)
“We work on that specific drill during the week in practice, the push the pile drill. So, we pride ourselves in it. Any chance we can do it, and it paid off tonight.”
“It’s amazing. I like the quick turnarounds, knock a few out. I think I’ll probably feel differently about it whenever I’m older. But my body recovers pretty well right now because I’m young. But when I’m Morgan’s [Moses] age, it might be a different story. But, yeah, it’s nice. It was cool. We did it a few weeks ago but doing it at night, it was a lot cooler. The crowd was in it. It was a lot of fun.”
(On the crowd chanting MVP for Drake Maye)
“He’s playing at an elite level right now. I’m biased, but I think he’s the best player in the NFL. There’s no game that we’re out of when we have him. He’s just, even how good of a player he is, he’s an even better person, and an even better teammate. That just makes it that much cooler. To be able to share the huddle and in the locker room, and be friends with somebody like that. I just look forward to the future, to continue to play with him, and grow with him. As we all continue to grow in this offense, he’s got everything in front of him now. I’m super excited to be a part of it.”
(On how he feels about the direction the team is headed)
“We’ve got a really talented team. But talent doesn’t win games. We’ve got guys that play together and that are brought into what Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) is building, and the staff is asking of us. This game’s over. We can enjoy it for tonight. But after we get back from the weekend, it’s on to the next. I think that’s something we’ve done good. We have to continue to do good. After we win, we’ve got to move on to the next one. We can’t ride the highs and be down in the dumps on the low. We’ve got to keep doing what we do and having great weeks of practice every week before the games and just continuing to do it.”
(On what he’s seeing from TreVeyon Henderson)
“A lot of good stuff. [Mike] Vrabel preaches when you have a good opportunity to take advantage of it, you’ll get more opportunities. It sucks with Rhamondre [Stevenson] being out, but TreVeyon’s taking advantage of that opportunity. He’s running hard. I mean, everyone knows he can outrun you, but what people are seeing is he’ll run through your face too. I thought he had an awesome night, a lot of good energy. He loves the O-line, coming and celebrating with the boys, it was a lot of fun.”
(On Henderson buying into the team)
“He’s an awesome young player. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, I think faith comes first for him, and that tells you everything you need to know. He’s doing a great job. We all know what he is, we all know what he can do. We just have to put more ownership on ourselves with the backs that we have with Rhamondre [Stevenson], [Terrell] Jennings, and TreVeyon. We just have to give them a little space and they can go. They can run, they can run you over. It’s fun to watch, it’s fun to play with.”
(On Drake Maye receiving MVP chants from the home crowd)
“It’s not distracting. The fans are excited, we’re giving them something to be excited about. Everyone hears it, you can’t not hear it. I think [Mike] Vrabel’s done a good job helping us focus on the task at hand.”
(On if he thinks Drake Maye is playing like the MVP)
“Yeah, he’s playing like it, but he’s not playing for that award. We’re just playing, we’re playing today to beat the Jets. That’s honestly how I think the team goes about their business day in and day out. All that other stuff will take care of itself.”
(On Dell Pettus’ performance)
“Somebody who is so consistent, reliable, and showed up at big points this year. Huge play on Kyle Pitts the other week, comes up huge for a game-winning play for us on fourth down. I can’t say enough good things about him. He comes every day looking to get better, preparing to win and preparing as a starter. So, when you make plays in this league, you tend to get more opportunities to make more plays. So, we’re excited to see where it goes.”
(On preparation for inclement weather and declining shortened team meetings)
“Yeah, we play outside, we play in inclement weather. We are in New England, so we’re going to have to play in lots of inclement weather games. We want to use that as a winning edge for us and something that we can hang our hats on. We are not going to slow down when the weather’s cold. Hopefully, the other team does. When it comes to meeting times, meeting is crucial for our success on the field. I know it looks like a bunch of chaos on the field, but it is such controlled chaos. Each person has an individual role, and those meeting times are where we really detail out those roles and finalize everything.”
(On overcoming injuries and players stepping up in recent games)
“Yeah, prepare as a starter. You never know when your opportunity is to be called. Our defensive line throughout has been preparing as a starter. I can’t say enough great things about those guys in front of me. They have been eating up double teams all year, making plays in the backfield. Just been a really solid defensive line, no matter who it is in front of me. Whether it’s our starting defensive line or our second defensive line, they are rotating all game long, and it’s fun to have those fresh bodies in front of you.”
(On the key characteristic of the team’s success this season)
“Yeah, team defense. Nobody is bigger than the team, and that is the type of team Coach [Mike] Vrabel wanted to build from day one. A bunch of guys who are selfless, who want to pour into this team, who want to help their teammates, who get joy from seeing their teammates succeed. When you’ve got 33 guys, 11 on offense, 11 on defense, 11 on special teams, who all want to see the team succeed, good things are going to happen.”
(On when he sensed a successful start for the team this season was possible)
“People have asked me this question in the past, but I have something called player delusion. Every year, I felt like I was going to be 11-0 after 11 games. It’s part of my confidence, I guess. It’s part of my process. Every game I have ever gone into, I expect to win the game. We have a bunch of guys who are just like that, too; no one feels outmatched. We are never going to feel like an underdog. We are going to continue to play team defense, team offense, team football, and just let the chips fall where they may.”
(On the importance of recovery and preparation for the next game)
“I am expecting to see a bunch of guys in the facility throughout the weekend. I would be very surprised if we don’t have 30, 40, 50 guys here over the weekend looking to get recovered, extra lifts in because we know the real season is ahead of us. Everything that’s in the past is in the past, and going forward, this is our season.”
(On his connection with Drake Maye)
“It’s just football. OTAs, to training camp, to practice throughout the year. Learning one another and finding those spots and doing what he feels comfortable with and, just doing my job. Obviously you get comfortable over the course of time, but everybody’s doing their job.”
(On what special traits he sees in Drake Maye)
“Doing his job, play in and play out, and being a commander of the offense, being there by the lineup. Sometimes I go the wrong way, and I don’t do things perfect. He has that open line of communication of being that quarterback and being a leader. He’s just one of those pillars on the offense that keeps us in the right spot.”
(On his third 100-yard game this season and if it means more after his injury last year)
“I wouldn’t say it means a more. Just getting back to rare form and getting to where I want to be physically and mentally. I’m just thankful to be around, man. We got a lot of weapons on offense. So, when I get to make some plays out there – I left one out there, it was a flat, but we still left one out there. Just getting opportunities and wanting to be myself and be another pillar on this team. I feel like just taking advantage of my opportunities are going to be key because you never know when you’ll get them. We’ve got a lot of players on the team.”
(On what it was like seeing TreVeyon [Henderson] get a hat trick)
“I was happy for him. Young boy’s balling. He’s just got to keep it rolling. Everybody is feeding of each other. It is an exciting time to be a part of the New England Patriots. Don’t ride the roller coaster, do what got us here, and just keep on rolling. That boy is playing well, just got to keep it up.”
(On how special their 8-game winning streak is for the locker room)
“You’ve got to tell me. We just take it each week, one week at a time. Y’all got a different vantage point than what we’re seeing. But being a part of it is definitely special. It’s fun. You know what I’m saying? It’s exciting. People kind of count us out a little bit during the beginning of the year when things weren’t going right, but it’s easy to do that. So, for us, just keeping that mindset of being hungry, being humble, and when things are going right, just keep trying to duplicate that process. We’ll replicate that process to generate wins.”
(On getting a win in a short week)
“Yeah, for sure. A short week is always hard, but we embraced it. It is a division game, like we talked about all week. It is going to be a battle no matter what; it’s a division game. They are going to come in here and play hard. So, as a defense, I feel like we let up a little bit, but we were able to get stops when it mattered. So, it felt good to come in here and get a win, and in front of the home crowd, it’s always good to give them something to cheer about.”
(On the energy of this season’s team)
“Yeah, I mean, we have energy. We bought in, and everybody’s bought in. Just coming into work every day and pushing each other. We’re real tight. I feel like, as a team, especially as a defense, we just come in and come to work, and it translates to Sundays. But we’ve got to keep going. It is a good win. We’ve got a couple of days off, but we’ve got a big game coming up defensively. So, we’ve got to go get it.”
(On playing for Mike Vrabel)
“Yeah, [Vrabel] has done an amazing job. Even just coming in from OTAs, he stood in here and told us what we were going to do, and building a team and building connections and coming together, and getting close. As not just a former player, but a great player, he knows how to get people going. He knows how to get us going, and we call it getting under our skin a little bit. He likes to talk, but I mean, it’s fun. It’s good energy. We love playing for him, and we’ll do whatever we got to do to go out there and get wins.”
(On Mike Vrabel “getting under his skin”)
“He tries. He does sometimes, but, I mean, it’s kind of just how he is as a person, as a coach, as a player. He does a great job. He knows how to fire everybody up. So, he has a couple of times, but it’s for the best.”
(On getting the win and still having the chance to improve as a defense)
“For sure, there is always something we are going to learn. No matter if we play the perfect game and they score zero points, there is still stuff you can learn from, so many things you can learn from, like little things people don’t notice. Nobody in this locker room and this organization is satisfied. So, that is one thing that I’ve really liked a lot, and I would enjoy this one, but get ready for the next one.”
(On struggles in the opening drive and the defense’s ability to make adjustments)
“Yeah, just being able to make adjustments. They are going to make adjustments, and we have to make adjustments. So, we have to do better at starting fast. Credit to us and the coaches for being able to get the adjustments, and us going out there and executing.”