SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Minutes after losing Super Bowl LX, the Patriots were already making plans to return to the Big Game.
Veteran cornerback Carlton Davis was one of a few players in a losing locker room expressing confidence in the team’s ability to play again in the Super Bowl after a stunning turnaround in Year 1 under coach Mike Vrabel.
“Nobody thought we would be here. We put the league on notice,” Davis said. “Obviously, we didn’t get the job done. That s— stings. That s— is never going to not sting. But we got a bright future, man. … I got a feeling we’ll be back.”
Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs was already taking a look ahead to the 2026 season, when most of the team’s roster will still be under contract.
“Getting back to work in OTAs will be exciting because we saw how far we were able to go,” he said. “Just getting a chance to know each other, understand the scheme, the system, and what to do, and you get another year under your belt with that much time in the same system, (I’ve) got a lot of confidence in this group that we’ll be right back here on the other side of it.”
Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams suggested the team’s Super Bowl run reflected a well-rounded program, which could lead to sustained success.
“Guys take care of their bodies making it this far, playing for each other, playing for coach Vrabel,” he said. “I feel like we showed on tape all year the identity that he wanted us to play with. I feel like as a team we carried that throughout the whole season. Just didn’t finish how we wanted to. It’s gonna sting for a little bit.”
Williams was at the center of a Patriots defense that dominated for most of the postseason, then allowed 22 points in the Super Bowl. He had the team’s only sacks, plus a handful of pressures, as the Pats affected Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold but couldn’t force him into a turnover.
Pass rush figures to be an emphasis for the front office this offseason, especially with outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, their second-best pass rusher after Williams, set to hit free agency. However, Davis, a free-agent addition last year, said he expects the Patriots to do well again this spring, when they will try to refortify their roster with ample cap room and extra draft picks. And when it’s time for football to be played, the Pats will use their Super Bowl defeat as a little extra fuel on the fire.
“We’re really optimistic,” he said. “Obviously, right now it stings, so that’s the mood. But looking forward, we know that this is our first year, and that we accomplished a lot. But obviously we want to win it all.”
He continued: “I think we’ll use it as motivation, and we’ll move forward and I feel like we’ll be back.”