As the Patriots get set for their first playoff game under head coach Mike Vrabel, the coach’s message has been simple: don’t go away from what has been working.
“What coach was preaching was just don’t change our process, our preparation throughout the week — what we’ve been doing,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “I think the natural thing is to get a little more amped as a human for a big game. Just trust what you’ve been doing… Don’t do thing out of the ordinary.”
Or according to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, don’t switch the macaroni and cheese.
“You don’t try to go and make new macaroni,” Diggs said Wednesday. “We’re not going in with the new macaroni. You’re just going in with that same thought process and just trying to tighten up a little bit, far as putting a little bit of extra time on your body or putting a little bit of extra time on film or whatever it is that’s going to help you get an edge.
“It’s still football. It’s still the game that you’ve been playing for a long time, however you’ve been playing. I’ve been playing since I was five. So try not to make it more than what it is. But that attention to detail will take you further. Going the extra mile in certain areas, you never know how much it can help you but that is your edge. No secret recipe for it. You have an identity. Stick by that identity.”
The Patriots have adopted an identity led by effort and finish under Vrabel in his first season in charge. That has led them to 14 wins and an AFC East Championship en route to putting the Patriots back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
The success behind that identity is exactly why they do not want to switch the macaroni and cheese.
“The analogy came from somebody on Thanksgiving,” Diggs said last week. “They came to their family gathering and they made new mac and cheese. They said, ‘don’t trial and error on our day.’ So, same recipe. Don’t change the mac and cheese.”
While Diggs is among the few on New England’s roster with playoff experience, Sunday night will mark the first go-around for a majority of the team. That will include Maye, who will make his first career playoff.
The veteran receiver is expecting the same version of the 23-year old MVP candidate that he saw throughout the season.
“No new macaroni. I expect to see the same play, if not him doing more. Whatever duty calls or whatever the job calls for, he’s been consistent,” Diggs said. “I’m excited for Drake though. Another stage for him to shine. He’s a good quarterback. He’s been a good quarterback. He’s an MVP talent, MVP in my opinion. I won’t say too much about it, but I’m excited for a lot of guys. It’s a lot of guys’ first time in the playoffs. Here we go.”
