Thursday was a bad day in the New England Patriots news cycle. Before watching two former Pats tear it up on Thursday Night Football, fans were bereded with one injury update after another, and they were all bad news. Three starting defenders stood on the sideline while the team prepared to take on the best team in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills.
It wasn’t until Ian Rappaport stepped in to announce that star defensive tackle Milton Williams injury “does not sound significant” that fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Looks like Rap Sheet was right again, as today the Super Bowl champion was back in action at Patriots‘ practice.
All signs are trending towards Williams being fully healthy for Sunday Night’s divisional battle with no limitations.
Williams Says He Lives For Prime Time
The Patriots will be playing in their first prime time game under head coach Mike Vrabel’s leadership. Vrabel says if this team is who they think they are, then they have to prove it under the lights.
“I think if you want to get to where you want to get to, I think you certainly better enjoy it, better enjoy playing in prime-time games,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “And that’s something that we’re trying to prepare for right now. And so, I think that certainly it will be a huge challenge. The last time they lost at home was 14 games ago. We’re well aware of that and have to do a lot of really good things to give ourselves a chance.”
Milton Williams shares this sentiment as the defensive lineman says there certainly is something special about performing on the national stage.
“These are my favorite type of games — in the lights, primetime, you know everybody’s watching,” Williams said. “These are the type of games that I live for. It’s gonna be good. It’s a division opponent, it’ll be a good one.”
Williams played in four prime time games with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, and that’s not even counting the four game playoff run the Birds went on that culminated in a blow out victory on the world’s biggest stage.
Williams recorded two sacks in that Super Bowl.
Williams Impact So Far This Season
The Patriots defense has stepped up in a big way after a season of uncompetitive football in 2024. The defense as a whole is allowing just over 16 points per game, hardly more than two scores.
This is thanks to a handful of newcomers that arrive in Foxboro alongside Vrabel and Williams.
Harold Landry and Robert Spillane have been excellent, but Williams is among the league leaders in effective pressure rate. He is causing mayhem every time he steps on the field.
The fifth-year veteran, who signed the largest contract in Patriots history this offseason, ranks second among all NFL defensive tackles with a 19 percent pass rush win rate, per ESPN.com,” writes NBC Boston’s Darren Hartwell. He’s also tallied two sacks, five tackles for loss and three QB hits through four games, forming a ferocious interior duo with fellow DT Christian Barmore.
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