FOXBORO, Mass. — If football doesn’t work out for New England Patriots outside linebacker Chase Winovich, then he might have a future in soothsaying.
Winovich, who made it perfectly clear that he does not want to sound crazy, had a dream Saturday night that he had a strip-sack against the Las Vegas Raiders.
So, it was pretty wild when, early in the second quarter of the Patriots’ 36-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Winovich, or Nostradam-ovich, sacked quarterback Derek Carr, jarring the ball loose for defensive tackle Lawrence Guy to recover.
“I don’t want to sound crazy,” Winovich started. “And this is one of those articles that is going to get written, and I don’t even mean it to be. So, I’m just going to preface it with that. But it is funny, so I’m going to share it.
“Literally last night, I had a dream that I had a strip-sack. So, before I went out on the field for that series, I told one of the team doctors. I told him I had a vision last night. I had a dream that I was going to get a strip-sack. And two plays in, I did. In terms of crazy things to happen, that was definitely one of them. It was just one of those things we had seen during the week. And the stars aligned. I felt like I had an edge that I could get off. So, I worked the edge and just a matter of finishing on the quarterback. I felt like what his position was, I could go for the ball and try to be a football player, make some plays and help the team.”
Apparently, Winovich’s long blonde hair isn’t the only thing he has in common with Disney princesses. A dream is, indeed, a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep.
Winovich has emerged as one of the Patriots’ best defenders through three games this season. He finished Sunday with two tackles, the sack and forced fumble, another quarterback hit and a pumpkin that transformed into a stagecoach.
Next week, Winovich should dream of two strip sacks just in case it comes true again.
