Patriots Still Optimistic Despite Gutting Super Bowl Defeat

The confetti was falling in bunches. Members of the New England Patriots slowly trudged to the locker room at Levi's Stadium. Only Jahlani Tavai and K'Lavon Chaisson sat motionless on the Patriots' sideline. An uninspiring loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX will be the lasting image of the 2025 Patriots.

But some players say this loss won't define them, and it certainly won't dampen the improbable path they took to return to the NFL's biggest stage.

"Nobody thought we would be here," cornerback Carlton Davis said postgame, via The Boston Herald. "We put the league on notice. 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."

On the field, it was the ugliest game of the season for New England. Drake Maye was under duress all night, and any open receivers weren't able to get the ball in their direction. The offense — once clicking to a Tom Brady-esque tune during the regular season — couldn't pull a rabbit (or a Bad Bunny) out of the once-potent magic hat. Their luck had truly run out in Santa Clara, California.

The first year of the Mike Vrabel regime showed enough to leave Patriots fans hopeful for the seasons to come. The second-year quarterback took leaps and bounds, though Maye will tell you he didn't play well at all against the league-best Seattle defense. Key pieces on offense compliment the defensive stars, and this team is built to compete again.

But will they? The schedule narrative continues (and will continue) to loom over this team like a dark cloud. Will Campbell got bullied in his first Super Bowl action, and the lack of a running game tormented the Patriots like the ghosts that used to plague the opposing quarterback on the other sideline.

Most of the team remains under contract for 2026, a good sign for success being carried over.

"Getting back to work in OTAs will be exciting because we saw how far we were able to go," backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs 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."

The Patriots will be drafting in the back half of the first round next year (the first time since the 2020 season), and have plenty of cap space to add to their team. Offensive line and edge rushers continue to be major holes that will be addressed in the coming months, while pending free agents Jaylinn Hawkins (safety) and Khyiris Tonga (defensive tackle) could return.

New England fans won't want to look back on this Super Bowl performance fondly. Yet the season was as special as you could imagine for a rebuilding team. The largest in-season turnaround in NFL history is nothing to sneeze at.

The Patriots sure didn't bring any tissues, for sneezing or tears.

"I think we’ll use it as motivation," Davis said. "We’ll move forward and I feel like we’ll be back."

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