Patriots will win their 7th Super Bowl thanks to the leadership of Mike Vrabel and an underrated offense - Yahoo!

As the New England Patriots continued to roll late in the regular season, head coach Mike Vrabel avoided bringing up the idea of ​​a Super Bowl run when talking to his team after games.Now, those words have turned into an opportunity for Vrabel to lead his first Patriots team to the franchise's seventh Super Bowl title when they meet the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

The Patriots will win their 7th Super Bowl thanks to the leadership of Mike Vrabel and an unprecedented offense

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — As the New England Patriots continued to win late in the regular season, coach Mike Vrabel avoided bringing up the idea of ​​a Super Bowl when talking to his team after games.

But there are hints as to where he feels this team could go.

"We've got to keep going because they keep getting bigger and bigger. They keep getting bigger and bigger," he reminded them after the season-ending win.

Now those words have manifested into an opportunity for Vrabel to lead his first Patriots team to the franchise's seventh Super Bowl title when they meet the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

While the players were certainly the driving force - a fact the coach emphasized on virtually every occasion when asked about the team's success - Worribel's leadership cannot be underestimated.

The Patriots had modest expectations after going 4-13 in New England the past two seasons, but after last season ended in failure, the Patriots suddenly have a chance to become the sixth team to win a Super Bowl.

Vrabel has also instilled a sense of urgency on a team that enters the postseason with only 18 players who have even appeared in a playoff game.

"We're all just locked in because we know what's at stake," cornerback Carlton Davis III said."We know we don't have much of a chance in this.Competing in the playoffs to get to the playoffs and get to this point.We're just giving it our all... Now it's paying off."

Starting quarterback Drake Maye, who finished second in MVP voting in just his second season, posted a league-best 72% completion percentage to lead the way with 4,394 passing yards and 31 touchdowns.

He is the fourth quarterback since 2000 to win his first three career playoff starts, joining Tom Brady (first 10 wins), Joe Burrow (three) and Jake Delhomme (three).Maye became the first quarterback in history to win three games against top-five defenses in a single playoff -- the Chargers (No. 5), Texans (No. 1) and Broncos (No. 2).

But what stands out is the confidence he instilled in his offensive teammates.

His maturation is second to none," Stefon Diggs said. One of the best I've ever seen at the quarterback position. He's still super young, which is crazy. He's had a lot of success, but I'm a fan of his because I've been around him. He's like a mini inspiration. For him to be young, mature and be able to play at a high level is something I'm always happy about as a young player."

But it is much more than that.Maye is backed by a capable group of wide receivers, led by Diggs, who had his seventh 1,000-yard rushing season after knee surgery.

The team also has big play threats in cornerbacks like Keyshawn Pott and Demario Douglas.Combined with the production of running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson (4 TD runs of 50 or more yards), the Patriots have the kind of threat to challenge the Seahawks.

After defensive coordinator Terrell Williams took a leave of absence after being diagnosed with cancer before the start of the season, things could go south for his unit.

Instead, linebackers coach Zak Kuhr stepped into his role and moved on.

The Patriots were top 10 in total defense, rushing defense, pass defense and points allowed.New England's defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the postseason.

"I feel like we've always done our best," cornerback Carlton Davis III said."It's just coming out now. Everybody's healthy. We're playing the season. We're just putting everything together. We're just trying to be the best defense on the field every game and it's happening. That's not the secret to our success. We're being ourselves and playing for each other."

Davis and Cornerback Cernian Gonzlez during the Playeeffs.Davis has been recorded 16 times a postteason, not accepted printed and just about eight.Gonzalez is accepting to complete 40.7% of his walls (11-of-1) and 11.6 and 1 11.6 is just at the end of the pressure.

Look no further than punt returner Marcus Jones.He has punt returns of 94 and 87 yards this season, giving the Patriots another way to score at any time.

Rookie kicker Anthony Borregales was inconsistent, connecting on 27 of 32 field goal attempts, including four from 50-plus yards.

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