Stefon Diggs admitted that he and his New England Patriots comrades may have let up a bit in their season-altering loss to the Buffalo Bills. The wide receiver acknowledged they were blinded by the glory of clinching the franchise's first AFC East championship since 2019 and let it slip away.
However, Diggs' disappointing confession concluded with a massive silver lining. He took a glass-half-full approach to the Patriots blowing a 21-0 lead to their division rival (and his former club), describing it as a learning experience.
Of course, folks in Foxborough would've preferred to see the Patriots finish the job and beat the Bills. Nevertheless, as Diggs expressed, there can be positive takeaways to falling short, with his reaction being a prime example.
The Patriots look inward to identify problems and address them directly, which is a testament to their head coach, Mike Vrabel. He was asked about the team's willingness to own up to their actions during a recent appearance on The Greg Hill Show.
Mike Vrabel puts Patriots fans at ease with comforting response to loss vs. Bills
Fans are in doom-and-gloom mode and looking for somebody to blame following a potentially monumental defeat to the Bills. Meanwhile, Diggs and Co. are taking accountability for making mistakes rather than pointing fingers -- because that's the standard Vrabel has set.
As a former player, Vrabel knows the NFL calendar has its peaks and valleys. With that in mind, he's ostensibly urged the Pats to focus only on what they can control in his inaugural campaign at the helm. The 2021 Coach of the Year doesn't want them to be too hard on themselves if/when things go awry, as we saw against Buffalo:
"We'll hear their explanations, but we can't accept excuses," Vrabel said. We just own it, and we come in with a willingness and a humility to improve ... . I'm hoping we're not walking around with our heads down; we have to get back to work."
While Vrabel acknowledged it "sucks" that the Patriots squandered such a prime opportunity in Week 15, the show goes on. His team didn't get the result it was looking for, though they can't let that derail the momentum built since this past spring. Everything New England wants to accomplish is still in front of them, and their fearless leader knows it.