Super Bowl week officially is upon us, and what better way to kick off the countdown to the big game than with a little smack talk.
The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams had refrained from the usual back-and-forth that begins after conference championship weekend, but with both teams holding send-off rallies before they departed for Atlanta, the stage was set for the trash talk to begin.
Patrick Chung got things going Sunday morning with a rousing message to a ridiculous contingent of Patriots fans gathered at Gillette Stadium.
“We love you. I appreciate the support,” Chung said. “We’re going to go (down) there and kick their ass, baby.”
The Rams held their own rally later in the day and ex-Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks found his way to the mic to respond to his former teammate.
“Hey Chung, we heard you talking that talk back there in Foxboro … let’s get straight,” Cooks said, capping it with a mic drop.
(You can watch the full video here)
Cooks was traded to the Rams last offseason and caught 80 passes for 1,204 yards with five touchdowns in the regular season.
Now that the Patriots have landed in Atlanta, this may just be the beginning of an entertaining week of jokes and jabs with the media as we barrel toward Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3.