Mike Vrabel says Mack Hollins won't practice Wednesday, Carlton Davis will ahead of AFC Championship Game
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel met with the media Wednesday as the team is set to practice for the first time ahead of the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos.
Vrabel said veteran wide receiver Mack Hollins will not be activated Wednesday from injured reserve, but cornerback Carlton Davis will be on the field as he makes his way through concussion protocol.
Latest on Mack Hollins and Carlton Davis
Vrabel provided only brief health updates on Hollins and Davis.
Hollins is eligible to play this week after being placed on injured reserve when he suffered an abdomen injury December 21 against the Ravens. But Vrabel said he will not be activated to practice Wednesday.
Davis starred in the divisional round against the Houston Texans, snagging two interceptions. But he left late with a head injury and did not meet with the media after the game, which is standard for players who are being evaluated for a concussion.
Vrabel said Davis is expected to practice in a limited capacity as he works his way through concussion protocol. That is similar to where star cornerback Christian Gonzalez was at one week ago after leaving with a head injury against the Chargers. Gonzalez cleared concussion protocol later in the week and played versus Houston.
Drake Maye's fumbles
In the first two Patriots playoff games, quarterback Drake Maye has fumbled six times and lost three of them.
Vrabel was asked about the fumble issues and how critical ball security will be against an elite Denver defense.
"We have to be able to not get careless with the football. We can't be reckless," Vrabel said. "A lot of it is operation. We had two turnovers where we weren't all on the same page. You can have a negative play if you're not on the same page. But even worse, you lose the football. Or if you don't have someone on the same page and they blitz, someone gets hurt. Those are the things we talk about when we're not on the same page, so I think the operation is going to be critical."
Patriots struggles in Denver
The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver. New England is 0-4 on the road against the Broncos in the postseason.
Denver is a notoriously loud environment. Vrabel was asked if his team has worked at all this season on using a silent count to deal with that noise.
"We've worked a silent count throughout the season. We've worked it when we weren't necessarily going on the road, just figuring that we'd need to," Vrabel said. "We went through that stretch of home games, so there were games where we were just focused on saying let's do it today just to work on it so we can have it when we need it. We'll certainly need it this week."
When asked if his team, which went 8-0 on the road in the regular season, enjoys playing away from home.
"Probably when we win they enjoy it. I enjoy it too," he said. "I think we tried to preach it through the entire offseason, and being able to establish an identity that travels. Overcoming mistakes that happen in the game, which there always are. You have to be resilient. There's going to be some swings in momentum. You're going to have to be able to handle the environment offensively and not put yourself in bad situations because your operation isn't very good. So there's a lot of things that we try to practice knowing that we're going to have to play half of our games on the road."
After beating the Chargers and Texans, the Patriots are now one win from a Super Bowl appearance. Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who was drafted by New England, will get the start in the game after Bo Nix broke a bone in his foot on Saturday.
Sunday's game is set to kick off at 3 p.m. and will air on CBS stations, including WBZ-TV, as well as Paramount+. The winner will play either the Los Angeles Rams or Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
When asked about his young team being in the spotlight during the AFC Championship Game, Vrabel didn't seem overly concerned.
"They're two more games experienced in the playoffs than they were two weeks ago. So, just try to play well, prepare and enjoy it," Vrabel said.