FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots coaches have donned black T-shirts this season that have the old-school Pat Patriot logo on the front and six capital letters on the back: FINISH.
Those T-shirts came to mind Wednesday when watching a portion of the Patriots’ early afternoon practice, a brief snapshot that reflected how the team is finishing its season in different-from-the-norm fashion.
They were in full pads.
Coming off a regular-season finale in which the Patriots kept their foot on the accelerator -- a significant change from their approach in a similar situation in the 2015 finale -- Wednesday’s full-pads practice was one example of how Bill Belichick hopes to keep players sharp during the playoff bye week.