The countdown to Sunday’s AFC Championship Game is officially on, and for the entire New England Patriots organization and its fans, it almost feels like a dream.
The Bill Belichick-Tom Brady dynasty era just came to a close, barely five years ago. With this new iteration of the team, led by head coach Mike Vrabel and 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye, already posting 14-win regular seasons and reaching conference title games, it’s impossible not to think about what’s coming next, beyond the possibility of reaching Super Bowl LX with a win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Especially with Buffalo now in a state of transition after firing head coach Sean McDermott, the opportunity for a sustained run of success — again — is impossible to ignore. And with Vrabel, a three-time Super Bowl champion for Belichick’s Patriots, now pulling the strings, the connection between New England’s past, present and future is binding.
Patriots fans tuning into ESPN’s pregame coverage of the AFC divisional round last week had to love watching Tedy Bruschi and Randy Moss pander to the crowd, with the Patriots' new Brady statue hovering nearby. No one was counting, but Moss must’ve yelled “We all we got!” to fans at least 10 times, and that’s only when the cameras were rolling.
With the ESPN crew in Foxboro for last week’s Texans game, Bruschi got the chance to sit down with Maye for a one-on-one interview. The Patriots’ legend wound up sharing an awesome message to Maye that should have fans pinching themselves all over again.
Patriots legends see something special forming around Drake Maye
Bruschi’s first question to Maye was more of a statement, and it clearly resonated with New England’s new franchise QB. The always awe-shucks, team-first Maye initially reacted by looking away with a smile.
“I think the first thing I need to say is how excited I am to be talking to you,” Bruschi said, with the cadence of a fan. “I think I represent all of our former champions that have been here in saying that it’s been a lot of fun watching your team this year. I think knowing who the head man is, also, because he’s like a brother to a lot of us.”
#Patriots QB Drake Maye spoke to Tedy Bruschi on how he has developed as a leader:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) January 19, 2026
“The biggest thing is positivity. Staying positive, but also having a different side to me… at this level, this league, sometimes they need a little, ‘Hey, you gotta be better.’”
(🎥 @ESPNNFL) pic.twitter.com/kC5YcWjiMo
It’s hard not to feel the love out there. From Julian Edelman’s one-liners on social media, to Vince Wilfork's Super Bowl prediction, to Tom Brady leaving fans with all the feels by breaking down Patriots plays in his throws of the year video for FOX Sports, the vibes are extremely high right now.
And while the team’s 16 wins (and counting) this year starts and stops with Maye’s meteoric rise to MVP-level status, the vibes are all Vrabel. He set the tone for this team on Day 1, and he already has everyone believing, from the players in the locker room, to the fans that turned Gillette Stadium into a hornet's nest in the playoffs, to the players who helped shape the franchise’s past — and suddenly look ready to throw the pads back on and do it all over again.
It’s all connected, and with another AFC Championship Game on tap for New England — the team’s 14th in the last 25 years — it sure is a beautiful thing.