After every victory, the New England Patriots traditionally hand out practice players of the week honors to those who have stood out during the team's preparation for the upcoming opponent. The team has released this week's players earlier today - they are as follows (via the team's twitter account):
Each of the players above helped the team prepare for the Los Angeles Chargers, who the Patriots defeated 21-13 on Sunday. The tight ends, for example, likely emulated the Chargers' potent duo of Antonio Gates and Henry Hunter. New England's defense limited the two tight ends to a combined four catches for 36 yards.