Patriots Ignored the Noise, Proved Mental Toughness in Divisional-Round Win

January 18, 2016   ·   Erik Frenz   ·   Jump to comments

"Ignore the noise."
It's one of many mantras that hangs on the door which New England Patriots players must walk through on their way inside Gillette Stadium. 
It's also the one mantra which hung over the Patriots' collective head going into their divisional-round meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs. In picking up the 27-20 victory, though, the Patriots proved once again that they are masters of the art of rising above distractions. 
Between the relative health (or lack thereof) across the roster, the conflicting reports about tight end Rob Gronkowski's health, a black eye for head coach Bill Belichick and the off-field incident involving defensive end Chandler Jones, the Patriots were swimming in a bit more controversy than usual.
But then again, this is a team that routinely, nonchalantly deals with controversy. Safety Duron Harmon exemplified this when speaking about Jones, per Glen Farley of the Enterprise: 
The Patriots spent all w...

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