An ankle injury limited Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane to 13 snaps in the AFC Championship Game. He says it won’t keep him off the field on Super Bowl Sunday.<\/b>
\n\u2014 An ankle injury limited Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane to 13 snaps in the AFC Championship Game. He says it won\u2019t keep him off the field on Super Bowl Sunday.
Spillane, a team captain and New England\u2019s defensive signal-caller, said he\u2019s \u201c100%\u201d confident he\u2019ll be ready to play against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
\u201cI mean, there\u2019s no chance in my mind that I miss this game,\u201d Spillane said before Wednesday\u2019s Patriots practice. \u201cIt feels like I\u2019ve been preparing for this moment for years of my life. But 100% confidence from me.\u201d
Spillane led the Patriots with 97 tackles during the regular season despite missing the final four games with a separate ankle injury. He played every defensive snap in the wild-card round and 93% in the divisional round before exiting in the first quarter of the AFC title game in Denver. He did not participate in either of the Patriots\u2019 practices last week before the team traveled to Santa Clara.
\u201c(The injury) happened in that last game in Denver, and every single day, I\u2019ve been progressing through the injury,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been getting better and better and better. So we\u2019re exactly on track, where we need to be. Running, cutting, doing all of that. \u2026 Treatment all day, all night. That\u2019s my sole focus. I\u2019m doing everything required from the training staff, and that\u2019s 24 hours of care, taking care of it throughout the night, as well. So we\u2019re going to stay on that plan and trust the process.\u201d
The Patriots played the AFC Championship without starting edge rusher Harold Landry, who missed the game with a knee injury. Part of a highly impactful free agent class that also included Spillane and defensive tackle Milton Williams, Landry led all New England defenders in sacks (8 1\/2) and quarterback hits (19) during the regular season and finished tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (10).
Landry was noncommittal when asked whether he\u2019ll be healthy enough to suit up against Seattle. Earlier in the week, he said he \u201cwould anticipate\u201d playing on Sunday.
\u201cI feel good,\u201d Landry said. \u201cThe staff has been doing a good job getting me to this point. We\u2019ll see how practice goes today, and then how the rest of the week goes, and we\u2019ll go from there.\u201d
The Boston College product said recovering in time for the Super Bowl is \u201cdefinitely the goal.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of people,\u201d Landry said. \u201cI know we have a good young team, and anything can happen in the future, but it\u2019s hard to get back to a moment like this. So to be able to play in a game that I watched my whole childhood growing up and aspired to be in, it would mean the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n