The New England Patriots are one win away from punching their ticket to Super Bowl LX, and excitement is building for Patriots Nation.
About 100 Patriots fans packed J.J. Foley’s in the South End Friday morning, along with NBC10 Boston crews, for the Today Show’s playoff pep rally.
“The place is on fire now, we are ready for this again,” Bob Hyldburg said.
“I didn’t predict 14 wins. I was really excited, thought they could make the playoffs but did I think I was going to be at J.J. Foley’s at 7 a.m.? No, I did not think that whatsoever,” another fan at the pep rally said.
In the middle of the celebration was “Father Foxboro,” who considers himself an “irrational” Patriots fans: “I always think we are going to win the Super Bowl every single year. No matter what.”
The team does have a chance this year, and if they could pull it off, their unlikely turnaround from last season would earn them a spot in history. Since 2000, only one team — the Cincinnati Bengals — have made it to the Super Bowl after only winning four games the prior year.
Some Pats fans already flew to Denver ahead of the big game on Sunday.
“I’ve been a fan since I’ve been 12 years old, season tickets for 30 years, that’s never going to change,” said Greg Hikel, the 2025 Pats fan of the year. “They are going to win the Super Bowl.”
If the Patriots do win, it won’t just be an exciting win. It would be a tasty win, too, for Maria Delios, the co-owner of Kane’s Donuts.
“We have been making bets with other donut shops,” Delios said. “If they win, we get a dozen of their donuts from Desert Donuts in Denver. They are a part of this wager.”
The Patriots have to take down the Broncos first, though — the top-seeded AFC team with a top 5 defense.
A key matchup is expected to be quarterback Drake Maye versus Denver’s defense. The Broncos led the league with a franchise-record 68 sacks this season, while Maye has been sacked 10 times in the playoffs. He also threw two interceptions and fumbled six times, losing three of them.
The Patriots have been practicing all week ahead of the big matchup, and Coach Mike Vrabel said Thursday he’s excited for the game and expecting big things from Maye.
This will be the Patriots’ 13th appearance in the AFC title game in the past 25 seasons. New England is favored to win with backup Denver quarterback Jarrett Stidham playing in place of the injured Bo Nix, but Patriots players know the Broncos are a good team, and they’ll be ready for a challenge on the field.
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