Members of the New England Patriots had time for a little victory lap in Denver after punching their ticket to the Super Bowl on Sunday.
After the Pats defeated the Broncos in a snowy 10-7 game at Empower Field in the Mile High city, the team couldn’t catch their flight home due to the wintry weather.
Instead, they were given a night off on their fallen foe’s home soil to celebrate the big victory — with one big catch.
While head coach Mike Vrabel did tell his charges that there would be no curfew on Sunday night, every player had to be on the team bus at 8 a.m. — or else they wouldn’t be playing in the Super Bowl.
Defensive lineman Milton Williams relayed the message from Vrabel to a reporter after the game.
“No curfew tonight. But the bus leaving at 8 in the morning— so if you ain’t on it, you ain’t playing in the Bowl,” Williams told Jori Epstein of the coach’s statement.
When asked if he thought Vrabel was joking about the potentially harsh punishment, Williams added: “Oh yeah, I ain’t playing.”
What else did Vrabel say?
Vrabel echoed the sentiment in his locker-room speech that was posted on YouTube, confirming that the team would be back at work after one night of celebrating.
“You have to celebrate tonight and then tomorrow, it’s how we are going to win the next game,” he said in his post-game speech. “How is this group going to find a way to win one more game? We’re going to pack our s*** up. We’re going to take our belief, we’re going to take our identity and we’re gonna go on the road.”
The team planned to fly back to New England on Monday due to the winter storm that wreaked havoc across North America, causing thousands of delayed or cancelled flights.
The Pats now have two weeks to prepare for the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks, who defeated the Los Angeles Rams in a 31-27 thriller later on Sunday.
The teams will face off on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif., at Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, in a rematch of the 2015 championship.
More flights added
With the Patriots earning the spot in the big game, JetBlue has already taken action by adding several more flights from Boston to San Francisco in the days leading up to the Bowl.
“There’s something unmistakable about how New England shows up when the Patriots keep winning,” JetBlue president Marty St. George said in a statement, per NBC. “As the official airline of the Patriots, we’re proud to keep helping make these moments possible for fans across the region.”
The airline has added four extra nonstop flights to SFO for a total of 14 in the three days leading up to the game. It also has added four extra nonstop flights back to Boston starting late Sunday after the game.