Some Anonymous Patriots Sound Pretty Ticked Off About Mike Tomlin's Comments

The New England Patriots said all the right things after hearing Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin call them a bad word.

Behind the scenes, however, it sounds like the Patriots aren’t happy about being called “a–holes” by Tomlin in a postgame locker room speech that Steelers receiver Antonio Brown broadcast on Facebook Live on Sunday night following Pittsburgh’s AFC divisional-round playoff win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Patriots toed the company line in responding to the comment that was never meant for them to hear, but Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman reached out to several New England players via text, and he shared some of those responses.

One Patriots player, according to Freeman, “responded within minutes” and had his own NSFW response.

“F— Mike Tomlin,” the player reportedly said.

And another: “Why are we a–holes when he’s doing the name-calling?”

(Pretty good question, too, if we’re being honest.)

Freeman said he reached out to several players, and while unsurprisingly none of them lent their name to their comments, it’s clear the Patriots are getting added motivation for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Steelers … as if a Super Bowl berth already wasn’t enough motivation.

“Caught my attention, that’s for sure,” a player told Freeman. “I don’t think I’m alone. (The tape) will add some edge to our preparations.”

Again, Tomlin never meant for the Patriots to hear what he said, and in the grand scheme of professional sports trash talk, calling your next opponent that word just minutes after winning an emotional playoff game really isn’t a big deal. Furthermore, Freeman also indicated some players didn’t really care, and as we mentioned, it’s probably pretty hard to add much motivation when a trip to the sport’s biggest game is on the line.

But it’s another interesting wrinkle to what should be a fascinating game Sunday at Gillette Stadium.