Patriots, Drake Maye silence doubters with callback to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick

Billy Heyen

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Patriots, Drake Maye silence doubters with callback to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick image

The New England Patriots, for most of the 21st century, weren't going to lose at Gillette Stadium, especially not in the playoffs.

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick had the Pats as an unbeatable force in their home history with the Patriots.

This isn't to say that Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel and this year's edition of the Patriots are Brady and Belichick.

But after a downturn for a few seasons, the Patriots are clearly back.

On Sunday night, they never let the Los Angeles Chargers get something going, and so the Pats advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

It's an emphatic statement by Maye, Vrabel and the rest of the Patriots.

MORE: Bills, Josh Allen never stopped pushing, and the Super Bowl dream is alive

They won 14 games in the regular season, but only one was against a playoff team -- and that was the Bills, who they split with.

There were plenty of doubters who didn't think New England would actually survive in the playoffs against good teams.

And sure, it's just one game, but it's clear the stage wasn't too big for this edition of the Patriots.

Maye looked comfortable throwing and comfortable running, shaking off a bad early interception to be steady and persistent the rest of the game. 

Facing a more veteran version of himself in Justin Herbert, Maye looked like the guy who had been here before, even though he hadn't.

There's still work to be done. 

The Patriots will host the winner of Monday night's Steelers-Texans game, presumably next Sunday. They'll be favored to win that and advance to the AFC Championship Game.

And now, there'll be less doubts. New England has proved it can totally handle another good football team.

No one is betting against Maye and the Pats now. This isn't last era's Patriots, but they're starting to write their own new and exciting chapter.

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Senior Editor