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Patriots’ Jahlani Tavai thanked teammates for support in postgame locker room moment
"Proud to have you back," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said to Tavai.
Jahlani Tavai’s postgame message to the Patriots locker room: After the Patriots’ 33-15 win over the Giants on Monday night, head coach Mike Vrabel spread around the praise to his team in the postgame locker room scene.
“Fellas, you all stepped up,” Vrabel told his team. “You chose to be aggressive, and you chose to attack.”
Vrabel, who clearly noticed the physicality of his defense, singled out linebacker Christian Elliss.
“Elliss, lights out,” New England’s head coach noted (adding the “one clap” style that the team has adopted).
Vrabel also credited cornerback Marcus Jones, for his punt return “house call” touchdown (seen at the bottom). On the offensive side, the entire left side of the line — composed of backups with both Will Campbell and Jared Wilson out injured — and wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams also got the “one clap” respect.
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“We’ve got to keep going, because now they get bigger and bigger,” Vrabel said of the upcoming games (which will now almost certainly include a postseason berth).
He then turned to linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who recently had to miss time for personal reasons, and directed him to “break it down” with the team cheer.
“Proud to have you back,” Vrabel said to Tavai.
The 29-year-old linebacker earnestly thanked his teammates for their support.
“I love the brotherhood in here,” Tavai told his team. “I’ll ride with any of you all, any day. I love you guys, and appreciate you guys.”
Trivia: What Patriots player holds the record for most defensive touchdowns scored in team history?
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(Answer at the bottom.)
Hint: He was a cornerback who was drafted (in the first round) out of Michigan.
Scores and schedules:
The Patriots defeated the Giants 33-15 at Gillette Stadium on Monday night, improving to 11-2 on the season (currently the best record in the NFL). New England now heads into a bye week, and will return on Dec. 14 for a pivotal home matchup against the Bills.
Tonight, the Bruins will face the Red Wings in Detroit at 7 p.m.
Also tonight, the Celtics will play the Knicks at TD Garden at 8 p.m.
Tomorrow, the Boston Fleet host the Vancouver Goldeneyes at Agganis Arena at 7 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- 8 takeaways from Patriots’ primetime win over the Giants
- This was the most vicious Patriots defense we’ve seen since they were winning Super Bowls
- Patriots stock watch: Here’s who stood out and struggled in dominant win over Giants
- Mike Vrabel discussed Patriots’ physicality, botched Giants field goal, and Stefon Diggs’s sense of humor
- Giants kicker Younghoe Koo had a field goal attempt go hilariously wrong at Gillette Stadium
- As the MVP hype grows, Drake Maye is ‘realizing what he can be’
The Manningcast: With the Patriots on Monday Night Football, local fans got to take in some commentary about their team from the Mannings and several notable guests.
On this day: In 1983, Larry Bird led the Celtics to a 115-106 win over the Trail Blazers at the Boston Garden. Bird totaled 41 points with 14 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. Robert Parish added 34 points of his own, while Dennis Johnson tallied 11 assists.
Daily highlight: While there were certainly other highlight-worthy plays from the Patriots’ win, Marcus Jones’ 94-yard punt return touchdown feels like the best choice.
Trivia answer: Ty Law
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