Vince Wilfork: Patriots’ Ugly Loss to Browns in Week 9 Turned Season Around

by abournenesn

Jan 3, 2011

Most successful teams can usually look back on the season and pinpoint exactly when things started clicking.

For the Patriots, that moment came immediately following their embarrassing Week 9 loss to the Browns in Cleveland, according to defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, who appeared on WEEI on Monday.

“[The Browns] just basically did whatever they wanted to us. We knew exactly what they wanted to do, and it seemed like we didn’t respond. We didn’t respond at all,” he said. “I think after that game, it was a gut-check time for us. We knew a lot of things that we did in that game, we wouldn’t have been able to win any game.”

According to the Pro-Bowler, it all started during the week of practice leading up to that contest, which most predicted to be a walk in the park for Tom Brady and the Patriots.

“That whole week going into that game, we didn’t practice well. Every day was a mistake,” Wilfork explained. “There were things we were making mistakes on that we had been doing all year, ever since OTAs [Organized Team Activities]. That week was a crazy week for us.”

Following that humbling defeat, the Pats turned things around and went on to win out and capture the top seed in the AFC playoff bracket.

“I think from that week on, I think guys really buckled down. I think we started trusting one another, trusting the system. From a whole team standpoint, including the coaching staff, everybody pulled themselves closer to one goal. And that one goal was winning.”

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