AP
The Patriots benefitted greatly from linebacker Dont’a Hightower’s decision to keep playing after he tore the labrum in his shoulder last season.
Hightower was a consistently strong performer at linebacker for a defense that had already lost Jerod Mayo for the year and needed him to step into a larger role as a result. That strong work didn’t slack off after he was injured late in the regular season and culminated with a tackle on Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch that kept the Seahawks out of the end zone just before Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl-sealing interception.