No sleep, sweet dream for Rowe
FOXBORO — Sleep can be highly overrated.
And like every other member of the Patriots who straggled off the fleet of buses at Gillette Stadium last night, Eric Rowe had the squinty-eyed look of somebody who had not slept more than one or two winks Sunday night or on the flight from Houston, and was not at all bothered by the deficit.
Considering Rowe began his season buried on the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that finished 7-9 without a sniff of the playoffs, and ended it as a key cornerback for the Patriots after they traded for him, the lack of pillow time was a pittance of a price to pay for arriving at his new home as a champion.
Even if he had time for a dream like this one, he wouldn’t have believed it.
“No, but it’s what you’re hoping for,” Rowe said. “Coming in at the beginning of the season, that was the last thing on my mind. I was trying to create a role for myself on this team. And just to be able to accomplish everything, even winning the Super Bowl, it’s just great.”
Lack of sleep can make anyone sound a bit spacey, but Rowe, who described himself as “mad tired,” spoke with the awe of somebody working on eight hours of shut-eye when he recalled the Pats’ thrilling comeback staged in Houston less than 24 hours earlier.
When the Pats entered their locker room down 21-3 at halftime, Rowe said safety Duron Harmon’s pep talk served as an instant caffeine jolt to a team that played a groggy first half.
“He was just really kind of picking up the team,” Rowe said. “We didn’t have our heads down, but he was the one saying, ‘ We’re all good. It’s going to be an epic comeback, don’t even trip.’ His body language was like, ‘ I’m cool, I’m just chilling.’ And we all kind of picked up on that. We were like, ‘ OK, it’s not over. The second half’s going to be a whole different game.’”
Of course, that’s exactly what happened. After watching their deficit increase by another touchdown, the Patriots went out and scored 31 unanswered points.
Rowe was in on 32 snaps and was the defender who made the futile attempt to prevent Julio Jones making that incredible fourthquarter catch at the sideline. That the Falcons’ lead and a play like the one Jones made did not take the air out of the Patriots’ sails speaks to the degree of confidence and talent residing on their roster.
“Especially like that, down 25, it takes a lot of mental toughness,” Rowe said. “Not just to give up, but just to keep fighting and believing we were still in the game.”
They were in it all right. They were in to win it, which they did.
And as soon as James White bulldozed his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown in overtime, the reality hit Rowe hard.
“Oh yeah, it’s been sunk in since the clock hit zero. Don’t have to worry about that,” he said.
As sweet as the thought of putting his head on his own pillow must have been for Rowe, he sounded as if he could not wait to wake up and ride in a parade cheered by thousands of fans.
“Definitely. That’s who we do it for,” Rowe said. “Just to see them and celebrate with them will be the greatest.”