The New England Patriots earned their first playoff win since the 2018 NFL playoffs with a 16-3 wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, but they didn’t come out of it completely unscathed.
Coach Mike Vrabel suffered a bloodied lip near the end of regulation after celebrating a sack with star defensive tackle Milton Williams.
Williams got what was, effectively, a game-ending sack of Justin Herbert on a fourth-and-9 coming out of the two-minute warning. The 26-year-old lineman came screaming through the middle of the Chargers’ offensive line to wallop Herbert for a 9-yard loss.
Williams then went over to the sideline and sought out his coach. As Vrabel brought him in for a hug, Williams popped him in the face with his helmet, drawing blood, as captured by the NBC broadcast.
The 50-year-old coach seemed amused by the incident. He sought out Williams to show the defensive tackle he was bleeding before wrapping him up with another hug.
‘That’s one of the great shots of the year right there,’ NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth said while watching the scene unfold.
After the game, Vrabel praised Williams for emulating the message he instilled in the Patriots ahead of their first playoff game.
‘Well, we talked to him about being willing to spill some blood out there and that the big dogs come out in January,’ Vrabel told reporters during his postgame news conference. ‘I think Milt took that to heart in the way that he played the game and the way he finished the game. And he came over and got me pretty good, but that’s what happens.’
What about Williams’ side of his end-of-game exchange with Vrabel? The 26-year-old was honest about the exchange that left Vrabel bloodied.
‘Man, I was just turnt,’ Williams told reporters with a smile. ‘That’s just pure emotion. I think I headbutted everybody, but I forgot Vrabes ain’t have no helmet on. He’ll be all right though.’
And Williams echoed Vrabel’s message about ‘big dogs showing up in January’ when discussing his two-sack performance against the Chargers.
‘I was just preaching that to our group all week,’ Williams said. ‘It’s on us, what we do. I’ve been saying that all season though. We can control the game. If we do what we need to do up front, we’re gonna win. And I feel like we did that tonight.’