‘Bulletin board material’ can be a common talking point during the NFL playoffs. Things said by the other team that – intentional or not – can be taken as slights and used as motivation heading into the next game.
Take last week, for instance. For all the hyping up the Houston Texans’ defense got, the New England Patriots’ defense seemed to take that personally. They ended up putting together a dominant performance, with head coach Mike Vrabel and others confirming after the game they felt disrespected.
“Our guys are prideful men. And they want to compete and they want to win,” Vrabel said after the game. “They deserve the recognition that they’re going to get. They’re a top-five defense for a reason as well.”
On Wednesday the Patriots may have gotten their bulletin board material for this week. This time, it applies to the whole team and not just one side of the ball.
Over the past month, Broncos head coach Sean Payton has had messages or instructions for fans ahead of home games. For instance, last week he relayed the them to be loud when the opponent was in the huddle and not just at the line of scrimmage. Asked for a follow-up message for this week, Payton gave a cocky answer.
“They’re going to have plenty of rest after this one. Two weeks,” Payton said with a smile, referencing the two-week gap between the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl that the Broncos would get if they win.
Whether or not Payton was kidding, that’s the kind of comment that could certainly find its way back to the Gillette Stadium locker room. Whether it’s on a literal bulletin board or not, it’s absolutely the kind of comment that could fire up a team – reminiscent to the Patriots’ early dynasty when the team found out the Steelers had their bags packed for the Super Bowl in New Orleans ahead of the AFC Championship Game (leading to the famous clip of Willie McGinest yelling “cancel all those reservations” at the crowd late in the game).
For what it’s worth Payton continued his answer by complimenting Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and the offensive unit for how much they do at the line of scrimmage.
“This is a team at the line of scrimmage that does a lot,” he said. “Josh is fantastic at putting together good plans offensively. There are alerts, there are kills, there’s all – right when the – I keep emphasizing, just as the huddle begins until the ball is snapped.”
That’s not all the Patriots got for bulletin board material though. Former NFL quarterback and current independent QB coach Jordan Palmer, who works with with Broncos starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham, had some high praise for Stidham while seemingly setting a floor for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
“I think if Drake Maye and Jarrett Stidham both play at their best, I don’t think it’s much different,” Palmer said. Palmer went on to say he is a “huge Drake Maye fan,” but highlighted Maye’s recent turnovers as a reason the “high highs or low lows” could be similar for both players.
Those comments come after a season where Maye is a top-two candidate to win NFL MVP. Stidham has four career NFL starts, and hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL since 2023, and is making his first start filling in for starter Bo Nix due to a fractured ankle.
This is only Wednesday, so we’ll see what’s said – on both sides – for the rest of the week. Motivation can only take a team so far and the Patriots will still have to go out and execute on Sunday if they want to prove Payton, Palmer, and others wrong. That being said, they may be looking at some crowded bulletin boards as they head out for Denver.
