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The New England Patriots are about to be in their 12th Super Bowl in franchise history, but only a handful of players on this year’s roster have experienced the “Big Game” in their careers.
The good thing is that they have a head coach who knows a thing or two about what it takes to win it.
Mike Vrabel had a dream first year coaching his former team, which he helped win three Super Bowls in the early 2000s. His leadership, along with the rest of his coaching staff, has been crucial in turning a team with four wins in the last two NFL seasons into a team worthy enough to reach the top of football once again.
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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel celebrates after the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on January 25, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
So what exactly is the message Vrabel has for the Patriots as they prepare for the Seattle Seahawks next week?
“We’re going to the Super Bowl to win the Super Bowl,” backup quarterback Tommy DeVito told Pak Gazette Digital, while discussing his partnership with Progressive. “That’s it. We’re not just saying, ‘Oh, we made it to the Super Bowl. Great.’ No, we’re going to win it.”
Going from a four-win team just a year ago to AFC champions is a big jump for any franchise, but it’s no surprise to anyone that Vrabel isn’t happy with just that one win. He wants to win everything and so does the rest of the team.
PATRIOTS COACH MIKE VRABEL REVEALS THE EXTREME SACRIFICE HE WOULD MAKE TO HIS MALE ANATOMY TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL
Only five players (Carlton Davis III, Christian Elliss, Mack Hollins, Austin Hooper and Milton Williams) have had any type of Super Bowl experience in their careers. The rest of the Patriots roster is hungry to reach their first rings, including DeVito.
“As much as everyone wants to be in that game, you want to be on the winning side. I’m sure that other side won’t be much fun afterwards,” he said.
DeVito’s season began on the New York Giants roster, where he became a fan-favorite quarterback after needing to take a step forward in 2023 and 2024 due to Daniel Jones dealing with injuries. He joined the Patriots’ quarterback room after the Giants loaded up with the additions of rookie Jaxson Dart, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.
While in his home state of New Jersey (the Giants’ facility is in the same parking lot as MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford), DeVito understood the pedigree of a Super Bowl-winning franchise. But even though two of those Vince Lombardi Trophies down the hall were wins over the Patriots, there’s more hardware in Foxborough.
Tommy Devito of the New England Patriots warms up before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on November 9, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
And that was not easy.
That word, “easy,” is one that has been thrown out in connection with this year’s Patriots’ return to the Super Bowl. Yes, their regular season schedule was near the bottom of the league (30th), but their trip to the NFL Playoffs has not been. The Patriots faced three of the league’s top five defenses, including their AFC Championship Game matchup against the top-seeded Denver Broncos on the road.
DeVito admitted that the team inevitably sees the rumors about how people believe the Patriots have had an easy road to this point, but he believes they are wrong.
“Everything revolves around your phone, whether you’re looking at cars, watches, dogs or anything else, at some point you’re going to see the Patriots, something like that. At home, when we played the Texans, all the analysts, reporters, everyone picked the Texans to win. It’s like, OK, if we had an easy schedule, why would you pick them to win?” -DeVito questioned.
Tommy Devito of the New England Patriots and Drake Maye warm up before the 2025 NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)
“People think it’s very easy, but not every team has to play Josh Allen twice and almost everything comes down to a third team. And then to go on the road, I think they said it was the first time we were 9-0 on the road. Playing on the road is not easy, no matter what. No matter who the opponent is, the environment is hostile, it’s a new climate, or whatever. It’s definitely not easy to win games in the NFL, especially on the road, doing it as many times as we did.”
At the end of the day, no matter how tough or easy the opponents were, the Patriots are back where the franchise hoped they would be with Vrabel at the helm. Now it comes down to just one more game, one that Vrabel knows requires maximum focus, effort and camaraderie.
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“It doesn’t matter what happened in the game, who played or whatever. As long as that column says 1-0 after that week, that’s all that matters,” DeVito said.
The Patriots will try to go 1-0 for the last time on February 8 at Levi’s Stadium.
Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito helps fantasy football loser serve league punishment in Boston. (Progressive)
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DeVito is considered the definitive backup for the Patriots, but he is also the same off the field.
As part of Progressive’s endorsement campaign, DeVito surprised an unlucky fan who had the fantasy football punishment of having to set up a lemonade stand in cold Boston for a day.
DeVito showed up and surprised the fantasy football underdog, and even though it was a cold night after all the snow that fell while the Patriots beat the Broncos, the product was sold out.
“It was amazing,” DeVito said of the night in Boston. “We had a lot of fun and got some great content, as well as some viewers who maybe didn’t know what was going on. But they had some lemonade in five-degree weather. So we made it work.
“Progressive has been fantastic up to this point. They’ve been a lot of fun to work with.”
