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USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ex-Patriots two-time Super Bowl champ's level-headed 2025 prediction
Former New England Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich gave an honest and more level-headed prediction for the Patriots' 2025 season. He expects the team to be significantly better than it was last season, when it only won four games with Jerod Mayo as head coach. Now that they have Mike Vrabel overseeing things, Ninkovich believes the Patriots should be able to turn things around. While he wasn't willing to go as high as 12 or 11 wins, he did predict that the team could win nine or even 10 games. "11 wins? They just had four wins. Let's be realistic," Ninkovich said on Dudes on Dudes podcast. "...I think they're a nine or 10-win team." The Patriots went to great lengths to improve their roster in the offseason with key free agent additions, including Stefon Diggs, Carlton Davis, Milton Williams, Morgan Moses and Robert Spillane. They also had arguably the best 2025 NFL draft, at least on paper, over every other team in the league. Time will tell with the results on the field, but there are many reasons for optimism. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Years later, Patriots legend still has empathy for Falcons after Super Bowl LI loss
The Super Bowl LI matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons will forever live on as one of the best Super Bowls in history. The Patriots looked down and out, as Atlanta established a 21-3 lead at halftime. From there, the rest was history as the Patriots stormed back late with 25 unanswered points to tie the game and ultimately win in overtime. Patriots fans and players will spend a lifetime celebrating that victory. The same obviously can't be said for Falcons players and fans after suffering one of the biggest collapses in sports history. During an appearance on the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast, former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich admitted he still has empathy for the Falcons after that loss. 'Matt Ryan, anytime he does anything, they ask him about that. It's like, at a point, I would just be like shut the (expletive) up," said Ninkovich, when speaking with his former teammates, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. "...I wish they would've won a Super Bowl for those guys, right? Now, I'm happy that we were able to make that happen and win that football game. But I kind of sometimes have a little bit of empathy for those guys that didn't win a Super Bowl.' The Falcons had one of the greatest runs in franchise history with quarterback Matt Ryan winning Most Valuable Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan won the Assistant Coach of the Year award as well. The Falcons went 11-5 and won the NFC South that year. Nevertheless, that season will always haunt them because of the Super Bowl loss. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
