Matthew Slater Gives Needed Perspective After Ugly Loss To Dolphins

The New England Patriots won most of the games on the regular season. The team had plenty of luck to turn to Matthew Slater. The Patriots blew a late fourth-quarter lead to the Dolphins and will have to play in the wild-card round for the first time since 2009. Slater talked about his.

“Certainly, it is a different situation, but it is important for us to have the proper perspective,” the Patriots co-captain said after his team lost the AFC’s No. 2 seed. “We have been very blessed to have the type of season we have had and being in the playoffs. A lot of teams don’t get that opportunity. Would it have been nice to have the bye? … But now we don’t have one.

“We have to do everything in our power to recover and prepare and be excited about our opportunity. Let’s not mope around and feel sorry for ourselves. We are in the playoffs in the National Football League. … Our team has worked hard, and we should be appreciative of where we are. You can’t allow something like this to stick with you. You never like losing games; it is what it is. But I think we need to look forward and embrace our opportunity and make sure we do everything in our power to seize the opportunity we have and make the most of it.”

Neither the Patriots nor their fans are used to the situation New England currently finds itself in. Both the franchise and the fanbase have enjoyed an embarrassment of riches over the past 20 years. Still, Slater views the unusually difficult road as just another chance for Patriots players to do something special.

“Here in New England, we’ve been a little bit spoiled with having byes year. But look, we’re blessed to be in the playoffs, and we should be excited about that. We should look forward to our opportunity and try to seize the opportunity.

“Because look: The reality is there are guys on this team that may never see the playoffs again over the rest of their career. So we need to make this opportunity count.”