The Patriots did not look good this past Sunday in South Beach. The final score might not be totally indicative of the Week 1 game's competitiveness, but it's tough to feel good about New England coming out of its season-opening meeting with Miami.
Nonetheless, the vibes are high in the Patriots locker room as they prepare for their second game of the campaign.
Matthew Judon confirmed as much when he met with the media Wednesday, four days before New England matches up with the 1-0 Steelers in Pittsburgh. The seventh-year pro explained why there's no sense in the Patriots getting hung up on one bad loss.
"We're all in good spirits," Judon told reporters, per MassLive. "We can't let one week turn into two. Gotta flip the page, turn the page. You watch the film, but you move on. That's the National Football League. So nobody's down. We lifted, ran, and got back to work. Feels good to get some pads back on, hit somebody, and we went back to work today."
Patriots fans shouldn't be slamming the panic button after one game. Slow starts aren't uncommon in Foxboro and Miami long has been a house of horrors for Bill Belichick-coached New England teams. But if the Patriots turn in a flat-out dud this weekend, it might be to time to wonder whether Mac Jones and company are bound to be cellar dwellers this season.
